


Ashes to Ashes

by Axelrocks



Series: Snake [2]
Category: Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: F/M, Sequel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-05
Updated: 2014-09-09
Packaged: 2018-01-03 13:06:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 44
Words: 98,936
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1070797
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Axelrocks/pseuds/Axelrocks
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sequel to Snake. They were together, they were happy. Nothing could destroy the life they had made for themselves. Until the dead began to rise and feast on human flesh. Now, they are on the run and their future no longer certain. At least, they still have each other.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> Well, here is the sequel! I also want to let you all know that the walkers won't be showing up for a few chapters. I want to show you all how everyone is doing since the end of Snake. Oh, and this is set 5 years after they graduated High School, so it's 3 years since the last chapter of Snake.

** Chapter One **

Three months after Merle and Maggie's wedding, Daryl found himself sitting in his Ford pickup clutching a small box in his hands in his oil-stained hands. Carol and him had been together for five years, known each other for ten, and he thought it was about time that he took the next step in their relationship.

If Merle could get himself hitched, then so could he.

The phone in his pocket began to vibrate and some song from some band he didn't know but Carol loved, blasted through the speakers. He jumped and cursed when he nearly dropped the box and its precious contents on the floor.

Finally, he fumbled the phone out of his pocket and answered it with one hand. He didn't even pause to see who was calling.

"Hello?" He grumbled. He hated talking on the fucking phone, but Carol had insisted they got ones since they both had jobs now.

"Hello, _darlin'_." Carol. He would know that voice anywhere, even if she tried to make it sound huskier. Like she was doing now.

"Is there somethin' ya want, _honey?_ " He grimaced at the pet name. Normally, he would never call her that but she would also never call him 'darlin' '.

"Oh, I don't want anything. Just wondering why you're still sitting in your truck. Are you afraid of coming in? Sick of me already?"

Looking through the windshield, he saw her standing in front of the big window in their tiny living room, with the curtains pulled back. He couldn't see her face, just a silhouette of her body. He fucking loved that body.

"Naw, I can never get sick of ya, woman." He knew that she had been teasing, but decided he would reassure her. "'Sides, you're the only woman who would put up with my stubborn ass."

"Good." She laughed. "Now, get in here. I have supper ready and on the table."

"Dessert?" He smirked.

"I'll see what I can cook up, Dixon." Her voice took on that husky tone again and then she hung up.

Daryl quickly stuffed the small box in his pocket, patted it once to make sure it was there before he opened the door to his truck and stepped out.

There house, if he used Carol's words, was a cute one story house. It had two bedrooms, one bathroom, a small kitchen, living room and a little alcove that held the washer and dryer. They had been renting it for six months now, since both of them had jobs and could afford it.

Carol had just graduated college and had gotten a job as a third grade teacher right away. He had gone to a local trade school to become a mechanic. After two years, he had graduated, got a job at the local garage and within a four month period, he had become Charlie's, his boss's, right hand man.

They had been dating for five years and the moment Carol had graduated; they had decided that they were ready to move in together. So, they had found a small house for rent, sat down and calculated how much they would be making with their combined incomes and finally agreed that they could afford it.

Daryl already felt like him and Carol were married. The ring in his pocket was evidence he wanted to make it official. He had been in love with her for years, even before they had become a couple and after seeing how happy Merle and Maggie had been on their wedding day Daryl knew that marriage was the next step for him.

Walking through the door, he stepped out of his work boots and looked down at his oily jeans and hoped Carol wouldn't make him change before he could sit down at the table. He was starving.

Carol had her back to him in the kitchen and was stirring something in a tall metal pan. The table was a few feet to her right and was already set up for their meal. Maybe he could sneak past her and sit in his seat. She wouldn't be able to see his pants, then.

"Daryl Dixon." Her voice was stern.

Daryl stopped, looked at her and saw that her back was still too him. How had she heard him? He was making sure he was being stealthy, like he was in the woods stalking a buck.

"Um, yes?" He answered and cringed at how suspicious he sounded. She was good at reading his tone of voice.

"Are those jeans dirty?" Still her back was to him.

"Um, no." Maybe he could make a run for it.

"Change them."

"But, I said they wasn't dirty." He argued.

She faced him then, her eyes raking across his form and paused on his legs. "You forget that I know you, Daryl." She smirked. "Now, go change. I'll fill your plate before you come back."

"Fine." He grumbled and stalked to his room.

Daryl continued to grumble as he walked into the room he and Carol shared. This was a normal occurrence for them and he supposed he should probably start getting use to it.

Walking to his side of the bed, which was closest to the window, he began unbuttoning his pants and slid them down his legs. He stepped out the puddle of jeans and reached for his pajama bottoms on the bed. He stripped off the sleeveless shirt and threw it into the hamper by the door.

The shower was calling his name, but he didn't really feel like taking one. Not like he had the time, anyway. Supper was ready. If he hadn't spent those ten minutes in his truck turning that little box in his hands, he would be clean right now.

The box! How could he forget about that? Fishing it out of his pocket, he opened one of the drawers of his night table and placed it in there carefully.

"Daryl!" Carol called. "You coming?"

It sounded like her voice was coming closer, so he slammed the drawer shut, steadied Neil the Snake before he could fall off and was out the door.

He nearly ran into Carol.

"There you are." She smiled, openly admiring his naked chest and only briefly glanced at the long scar over his collarbone.

He wasn't ashamed of his scars anymore; Carol had made sure of that. The first time they had made love, she had kissed the one on his chest before they both drifted off to sleep.

"I was jus' makin' sure I put all my damn clothes in the hamper." He complained.

"About time you learned how to use that thing." She smiled and stepped closer to him. Her nose wrinkled.

"What?" He asked.

"You stink." She took a step back.

"Of course, I do." He rolled his eyes. "I haven't had time to take a damn shower and I'm starving, so I ain't takin' one now."

"Well, I hope you take one before you climb into bed with me." She crossed her arms and looked stern.

"And if I don't?" He smirked.

Carol turned to leave, but threw over her shoulder. "I heard the couch is pretty comfortable."

Daryl didn't say anything to that. Instead, he took one long stride, wrapped one arm around her and pressed her back to his front.

"I'll only take a shower," he trailed kisses down her neck. "If ya join me."

"Hmm," she tilted her head and gave him more room to work on. "I did work up a sweat dealing with my students today. A shower does sounds tempting."

"Of course, it sounds temptin', woman. I'll be in it with ya." He spun her around and smirked before he kissed her on the mouth.

Carol pushed him away before the kiss could get deeper. "Our supper is going to get cold if we don't stop." She pressed a finger to his lips. "And don't you say 'fuck supper', Daryl Dixon. I slaved over that stove for an hour."

"Fine." He scowled. "But don't get mad at me if I start shovelin' food in my mouth." He walked past her and into the kitchen. Carol just sighed and shook her head at him, a small smile playing on her lips.

God, she loved him.  
\-------------------------------------------------  
Fifteen minutes later, Daryl had managed to fill his stomach and was working to satiate his other hunger. He had practically dragged Carol to the bathroom the moment she had swallowed her last bite and ignored her protests about cleaning off the table and doing the dishes.

They would still be there when they were finished.

The water was cold when they both stepped in the tub, but Daryl quickly warmed them up by pulling her close and giving her a searing kiss. He could kiss Carol all day.

Once the water warmed up some, Carol pulled away, grabbed her bottle of shampoo and turned her back to him so she could lather up her hair.

"You know, Daryl." She smiled, when she felt his hand wrap around her abdomen and started trailing upwards to her breasts. "The point of a shower is to get clean."

"I know." He waited until she rinsed all the shampoo from her hair, before he pulled her close and placed an open mouth kiss to the underside of her ear. She loved it when he did that and it made her knees weak.

"Well, then help me get clean." She pressed a bar of soap into his hand. "Then," she looked over her shoulder and looked at him through heavy lids. "I'll help you."

He fucking loved showers.  
\--------------------------------------------  
The water turned cold before they got out, but Daryl wasn't satisfied yet.

"Can I at least get dry, Daryl?" She whined when he picked up and carried her to the bedroom.

"I need ya now, woman." He almost growled as he pulled back the comforter and sheets on their bed, before he laid her down.

Looking down at her, his breath hitched. She looked so beautiful lying there. Her skin still glistened with water and even though her dark hair was wet and stuck to her face, he still wanted to run his hands through it.

Not a day went by where he didn't consider himself lucky to come home to her.

She scooted her body back until her head was fully on the pillow and then reached out to him with a bright smile. He took no time in joining her.

Carol wrapped her hands around his neck and opened her mouth to his searching tongue. He moaned into her mouth when she wrapped one leg around his waist and pulled him closer so more of their bodies were touching.

She felt _him_ on her stomach and that wasn't where she wanted him to be. So, she shifted her body, tilted her hips just so, and threw her head back in pleasure when he finally sank into her.

Daryl took the opportunity to kiss a trail down her neck to her collarbone, but other than that, he was still.

"Daryl!" She whined.

"Yes?" He smirked. He knew exactly what he was doing.

"Move." She hissed.

He happily obliged.  
\---------------------------------------------  
Early the next morning, the screeching of Daryl's alarm clock awakened the couple. Daryl rolled to his back and slammed his hand on the off button.

"Daryl." Carol whined from beside him, her eyes opened into little slits. She wasn't ready to get up. "Do you have to go to work?"

Giving her a quick kiss, he got out of the bed. "Yeah," he answered and headed towards their shared closet. He was still naked. "Charlie is still sick and he needs me to come in today and work on the payroll."

Carol sat up and rubbed her eyes. She didn't even bother to cover up her own nakedness and instead climbed out of bed.

Wrapping her arms around Daryl's waist, she pressed her cheek against his back and kissed one of the scars there. "He's been sick for a couple days. Has he gone to the doctor?"

"Naw, you know Charlie. He ain't gonna go to the doctor unless he's coughin' up blood or some shit like that."

Carol nodded and took a step back to allow him to get dressed. She watched him in silence, marveling at the muscles in his arms and back.

He slipped on a pair of his work jeans and a ragged, sleeveless green shirt. Grabbing a pair of socks from his dresser drawer, he walked to the edge of the bed to pull them on his feet.

"Are ya goin' to get dressed?" He glanced up at her briefly.

"Nope," she smirked. "I think I'm going to lie around naked all day. Maybe it'll help you come home faster."

Daryl stood up and pulled her close. "You're gonna make me not want to leave the house." He growled into her neck.

Carol slipped a hand beneath his shirt, her cool fingers trailing upwards. "Then, don't." She whispered.

He pulled away from her, reluctantly. "Can't. I got work to do. I'll be home around three." He walked past her.

"What am I going to do until then?" She pouted.

He shrugged. "Dunno. Maybe ya can grade some papers." His eyes raked over her body. "But I think ya might wanna get dressed before then." With a final smirk, he was gone.


	2. Chapter Two

Merle Dixon couldn't believe that he was a married man and had been one for three months. He always thought he would live his life as a bachelor and sleep around with countless women. Not once did he think he would fall in love with a woman and spend the rest of his life with her.

Then Margaret Anne Greene had stepped into his life and soon, with her fire and spunk, he found himself falling fast and hard.

Even after five years of being together, he never thought he'd get married until her father had talked to him. Hershel liked him, but made it quite clear that Merle better marry his daughter. A month after the talk, he had bought a ring and a month after that he had proposed.

Now, three months later, he found himself waking up everyday to the same beautiful woman. He was quickly getting use to it.

Except this morning, when he opened his eyes and expected to see his wife, he found an empty bed. She never got up without him and if she did, she would wake him up before leaving. So, where was she?

He sat up and looked around. His eyes landed the shut door across the hall. The bathroom. She had to be in there. Maybe she was taking a shower.

With a mischievous smile, he climbed out of bed and walked across the hall to the door. Instead of hearing the shower going, he heard someone retching.

He opened the door slowly and was surprised to see Maggie curled up by the toilet. She was pale and clutched her stomach.

"Maggie?" He was quickly kneeling by her side.

She gave him a smile. "Sorry, I didn't wake you up." She shifted and had her hand leaning against his shoulder. "I just wasn't feeling well and I came in here...and you know." She gestured to the toilet.

He placed the back of his hand against her forehead. "Ya don't feel hot."

"I think it might be something I ate last night." She gripped the edge of the tub and his shoulder and stood up. Her legs were slightly wobbly, so Merle wrapped an arm around her waist and led her back to bed.

Easing her down on the sheets, he asked. "Is there anythin' ya want me to get ya?"

"Maybe some tea?" She smiled up at him. "That might help with my stomach."

"Alright." He leaned down and kissed her forehead. "I'll be right back. Don't ya move, ya hear?"

"Yes, sir." She gave him a mock salute and watched him leave the room.

In their modest kitchen, Merle began searching the cupboards for a mug and tea. He made her tea several times before, but never drank any himself. He preferred coffee as his morning drink.

He spotted the box of her favorite tea, grabbed a bag and moved to get some water boiling on the stove. Once he had the water on the stove, he leaned against the counter, his brow furrowed in thought.

Maggie hadn't complained of an upset stomach last night. Not even several hours after their meal, when they had sat on the porch and watched the sky.

They had had fried chicken and mashed potatoes, a meal Maggie had cooked several times, and he found it odd if she had gotten sick over that. There was no explanation for her sudden illness.

Unless...

"Fuck!" He stood straight up and nearly knocked the mug off the counter to the tiled floor below.

It couldn't be... They had been careful... They weren't ready for this. They had only been married for three months, for Christ's sake!

Rushing across the kitchen, he grabbed the phone from the wall and dialed a number he knew by heart.

_"Hello?"_ A gruff and slightly annoyed voice answered on the other end.

"Daryl?" Merle spoke, his voice full of panic and he gripped the phone hard in his hand. "I think Maggie's pregnant!"  
\-------------------------------------------------  
"The hell ya tellin' me for?" Daryl growled into the phone. He had just been about done with adding up the payroll when his brother had called.

_"I don't know what to fuckin' do."_

"And I do?" Daryl put down the pen he had been holding, leaned back in his chair and prepared for a long conversation. "Carol's on the pill. We ain't got nothin' to worry about over here."

_"She's on the fuckin' pill, too!"_ His voice was getting frantic.

"Maybe she forgot to take it one day."

_"Naw, she doesn't forget. She knows how much we-"_

"Okay," Daryl interrupted him. "I don't need to know. Plus, I don't know why you're freakin' out. The two of ya are married. Her daddy ain't gonna come after ya with a shotgun cuz ya knocked his daughter up." Daryl smirked at the image of Merle being chased by Hershel Greene. "In fact, the man will probably give ya ass a hug."

_"I ain't ready to be a daddy!"_ He nearly shouted.

"None of us are ready to be daddies." Daryl rolled the pen underneath his hand.

_"The hell, baby bro! Can't ya act like yer at least a little bit concerned?"_ Merle sounded angry, now.

"Fuck, Merle, I am concerned, but what the hell do ya want me to do?" He sat up straighter in his chair. "I don't know anythin' about raisin' a baby. 'Sides, do ya know for sure she's pregnant? Has she takin' a test yet?"

There was a pause. _"She hasn't taken a test, yet. Maybe she ain't really pregnant."_ He sounded hopeful.

"She could still be pregnant. In fact, it's probably the case if she's gettin' sick in the morning and shit." Daryl couldn't help but smirk when he said it.

_"Shit."_ Merle cursed. _"Well, I'm gonna go. We're gonna buy one them fuckin' tests as soon as I can and we'll see what's goin' on."_

"Alright. Let me know the result." Then the brother's hung up with each other.

Daryl smirked at his phone, before he set it down on the desk. Poor Merle. He didn't know what the hell to do. It was funny to see him so unsure. It was so unlike how his brother normally acted. But Daryl didn't think he had any reason to freak out. Merle would make a good daddy. It was true, they hadn't had the best example of a good father growing up, but they at least knew what not to do when raising a child.

He fingered the ring box in his pocket. Hopefully, it would be awhile before he and Carol had kids. He wanted a few more years of being with just her, before they started a family.  
\-----------------------------------------  
Merle carried the steaming cup of tea into the bedroom and walked over to Maggie's side of the bed. She had been dozing while he was gone, but her eyes opened when he heard him set the cup on the table next to her head.

"How ya feelin'?" Kneeling next to the bed, he grabbed her hand and asked.

She gave him a smile. "Much better. My stomach doesn't hurt so much anymore." She sat up more in the bed and released his hand, to get her tea.

"Careful," Merle warned. "It's hot."

She took a sip and winced. "You were right." With one hand on the handle, she set the cup back down and leaned her head back against the headboard.

"Merle?" She asked, eyes closed.

"Yeah?" He looked up from picking at the edges of the blanket.

"Do you think I would make a good mom?" She looked at him, then, with her green eyes searching his.

He looked startled. "'Course. What makes ya think that ya wouldn't?" He grabbed her hand again.

She shrugged. "I don't think I wouldn't." Her gaze went to look out the window above Merle's head.

"Then why ya askin' me if ya would make a good momma, if ya already know ya would be?"

She looked down at him, expression unreadable. "I heard you in the kitchen." She smiled at his horrified face. "It would be hard not too."

"So, ya heard everythin' I said?"

She nodded. "Why do you think that you wouldn't be a good dad, Merle? Yeah, you're a little rough around the edges, but that's what makes you who you are. I think you would make a great father."

"Do ya remember, Buck?" He asked. Nothing could make him call that man his pa. True, he was flesh and blood, but that man was no longer part of his family.

"Yeah, I do."

Buck Dixon had been rotting in a jail cell for the past five years, serving a drug possession charge. If anyone had asked Maggie, she would tell them that that man deserved to be in jail for the rest of his life for the way he treated his sons. When Marc Spencer, Carol's dad, had kicked his ass all those years ago, she had itched to get a punch in herself.

"He's the only example of a daddy that I've ever had." Merle continued and didn't look at her.

"Merle," she placed a hand on his cheek and forced him to look at her. "You aren't like your daddy at all. You hear me? If you were, I would have never married you."

He nodded, but didn't look convinced. "So, are ya tellin' me you're pregnant, then?"

Her hand slipped from his face. "I don't know if I'm pregnant. When I woke up this morning, I really thought I was sick. Being pregnant never crossed my mind, until I heard you in the kitchen."

"You're still on the pill, right?"

She nodded. "And I haven't missed a day since we've gotten married. I agreed with you when you told me you wanted to wait a little while before we started to have children."

"Then ya can't be pregnant." He let a little bit of hope squeeze into his voice.

"Yeah, I can." And just like that the hope was gone. "Even with birth control, there is still a small chance I can get pregnant."

He frowned. "Well, fuck."

"We'll just have to go to the store, later and get a test."

"Later?"

"Yep." She nodded. "Right now, I just want to cuddle with my husband. Now, get your butt up here, Mr. Dixon."

Thoughts of babies were momentarily put to the side and Merle smiled. "Of course, Mrs. Dixon."  
\--------------------------------------  
Even with the unplanned phone call from his brother, Daryl had been able to get the payroll done and changed the brakes in Mrs. Hudson's old car early.

So, just after one, Daryl strode into his house and immediately went looking for Carol. Maybe she would still be in bed...naked.

Checking the bedroom, he found that she wasn't there.

"Carol?" He called out, hoping she was somewhere else in the house.

"In here!" She called back, her voice coming from the direction of the bathroom.

The sound of someone moving around in water grew louder the closer he got to the bathroom door. She was taking a bath.

He turned the knob and opened the door. His eyes immediately went to the leg that was peeking out of the tub. It was nice and smooth, like she had just shaved it. All he wanted to was run his hand over the smooth skin.

"You're home early." The leg disappeared into the water and she peeked around the curtain that had only been half pulled.

At the sight of her wet, naked body, he felt his pants tighten. Once she got out, it looked like he would be taking a cold shower.

"Yeah," he finally managed to say. "Turns out I didn't have much to do."

"That's good." She crossed her arms on the edge of the tub, rested her head on them and looked up at him.

"Figured ya would be happy." He closed the lid of the toilet and sat down on it. "So, why ya takin' a bath anyways?"

She rarely took baths. She took showers and most of the time, he was in there with her.

She shrugged. "I finished grading papers and there was nothing else to do, so I decided to draw myself a bath. It's relaxing."

"It looks relaxin'." His eyes roamed over her.

"Join me."

His eyes snapped to hers. "Huh?"

"You heard me." She smirked and scooted forward. "Get in the tub with me. You can help wash my back."

Without another thought, he quickly shed his clothes, almost forgetting about his obvious arousal. He had never taken a bath with her before and the thought excited him. He knew this was more intimate than a shower.

Carol watched him undress, her eyes lingering briefly on his pelvic area, before they went back to his face.

With a smirk, he settled in behind her and placed his legs on the outer sides of her hips. Then he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her to him. His lips went to the favorite part of her neck. "This is nice."

She nodded.

For the first time in their relationship, they were naked together and weren't thinking about sex. All he was thinking about was how nicely she fit into his arms.

"Ya know, I love ya, right?" He whispered into her neck.

"Yeah." She turned her head and kissed him. "I love you, too."  
\-------------------------------------  
"So, this is it." Maggie sighed and held the box with the pregnancy test in her hand.

"This is it." Merle peered over her shoulder at the box.

Together, her and Merle stood outside the bathroom door and stared at the box that had the power to change their lives.

"So, one line means ya ain't pregnant and two lines means ya are?"

She nodded. "Alright, I'm going too...you know." She stepped into the bathroom. Her eyes slightly watery.

"Hey," Merle cupped her cheeks. "No, matter what the thing tells us, I still love ya and if ya are pregnant, I'm gonna love that baby too."

A lone tear squeezed out of her eye and she nodded again . "Love you, too." Glancing down at the box again, she added. "I'll see you in five minutes." She closed the door on him, softly.  
\--------------------------------------  
Maggie held her breath and watched the clock. Five minutes had never gone by so slow. One minute after she had peed on the stick, she had heard Merle sigh and slide his body down the wall. Two minutes after, she started to regret not having Merle in there with her but made no move to get him. Three minutes and her hands were shaking. Four and she was staring intently at the stick on the counter. Five minutes and she nearly was busting her ass to get the damn thing.

With a deep breath, she looked down.


	3. Chapter Three

**Chapter Three**

Two lines.

Andrea gripped the small stick hard, in her shaking hands. Three other sticks, just like the one in her hand, scattered the floor around her feet. They all told her the same thing.

Pregnant. Pregnant. Pregnant.  _Pregnant._

She was pregnant.

Tears sprang to her eyes and she let the test fall to the ground with the others as she held her head in her hands.

She couldn't have a baby. Not now.

Her and Milton were just about to move into a two bedroom apartment in Atlanta that was closer to their schools. The spare bedroom was supposed to be used as their offices. A place where they could study. She was going to be successful lawyer and Milton was going to get his Masters in Biology and one day teach college students.

They didn't have time for a baby. They weren't  _ready_  for one.

Someone knocked softly on the bathroom door. "Andrea?" It was Milton. "Are you alright?" At the sound of his voice, she quickly grabbed all the tests from the floor and shoved them back in the empty box.

"I'm fine." She called back. "I'll be out in a minute." She looked for a place to hide the box. She couldn't just throw it away, Milton would probably see it.

She wasn't ready to tell him, yet.

Opening the cabinet under the sink, she quickly shoved the tests behind the box of tampons she had down there. Milton would never look behind those.

She stood up and quickly splashed water on her face, so he wouldn't know that she had been crying. Wiping her face on the hand towel, she opened the door and found Milton still waiting there.

He pushed up his glasses and looked concerned. "Are you okay? You were in there for awhile."

"Oh, uh, yeah." She mentally slapped herself for sounding so nervous and suspicious. "I had to wash my face. I'm sorry, I took so long."

"It's alright." He looked unsure. "I was just wondering if you were feeling sick or something."

"I'm fine." She gave him a forced smile and hoped he couldn't tell it was fake.

"Okay," he straightened up and she noticed he held some clothes in his hands. "I'm going to take a shower. Did you want to join me?"

She did, but she didn't know if she could be that close to him right now and not break down and tell him about the baby.  _Their_ baby.

"I would love, too." She gave him a real smile this time. "But I have a case to look over before bed and I don't want to stay up late looking at it."

"Okay, I'll see you in bed, then." With a smile, he cupped her cheek and kissed her.

That night as she laid next to Milton, curled into his side, her hand drifted down to stomach and sighed with relief to find it still flat. But she knew it wouldn't be that way for long.

* * *

Maggie felt tears prick her eyes when she read the result of the test.

"Maggie?" Merle's voice called through the closed door. It was uncharacteristically soft and she knew that he only used that voice with her.

Swallowing the lump in her throat, she answered him. "You can come in."

The door opened slowly and Merle poked his head around to lock gazes with her. His face paled instantly when he saw her tears. Within seconds he was next to her and cradling her in his arms.

"It's okay." He murmured into her hair. "We'll be fine. This baby is gonna be fine. We're gonna be the best fuckin' parents ever."

She buried her face in his neck and whispered. "I'm not pregnant."

"What?" He leaned away, so he could get a good look at her face. His blues eyes wide with shock. He had thought she'd been crying because the test had come out positive.

She smiled. "I said, I'm not pregnant. One line. See." She held up the stick to show him.

He was about to reach for it and then remembered that she had actually peed on it and retracted his hand.

"You're right." He breathed. "Jus' one line. I guess ya was just regular sick this mornin'."

She nodded against him and he felt a tear drip from her cheek to his chest. Shifting, he looked down at her. The smile was gone and tears were once again brimming in her eyes.

"Why ya cryin', now?"

Her arms tightened around him. "Is it bad that I'm happy I'm not pregnant, that I'm not bringing another human being into this world?"

"No!" Merle argued, surprised at what she had just told him. "That ain't bad at all, Maggie. We ain't ready for kids, yet."

She sniffled. "I do want to have children some day, though."

"I do, too." He smiled. "Our children would get my good looks and your stubbornness."

This earned a laugh from his wife. "More like the other way around, Dixon. They'll get my good looks and your bullheadedness."

* * *

Andrea sat at her desk and chewed her pen. Milton had gone out to get Chinese food and wasn't due home for a couple more minutes. It was the first time all day she had to herself.

It wasn't that she minded Milton, because she didn't, she loved him so much, but since she had found out she was going to have his baby she needed a little space. She needed to think.

How the hell was she going to tell Milton? She knew she would eventually. It was his child too and he had the right to know. Plus, in a few months it would get harder to hide it from him. But she knew, the moment she told him he would stop his studies to find a job. He had only one more year of school, but with another human being to support he would need to find a job.

Babies were expensive.

She supposed she could ask her dad for money, but he was already paying for their new apartment and she couldn't ask for more. Tears filled her eyes. How could she have been so stupid as to get pregnant? It was all her fault and she knew it.

A little over a month ago, she had ran out of her birth control pills, but it was also the same week she had a very important test to study for. All that week she had crammed and made trips to the library, but had forgotten to get more pills. The day she had gotten back the results of that test, her and Milton had celebrated. In bed.

Not once had the thought of pregnancy crossed her mind as she curled up against Milton's side that night, naked and satisfied.

Then a couple days later, she had suddenly remembered she hadn't had her period in a while and a shot of fear coursed through her. Without a word to Milton, she had rushed out of the apartment and practically ran to the nearest drug store.

Those four sticks had confirmed her worst fear.

"I'm back!" Milton announced from the doorway to their office." Are you hungry?"

Turning around, she gave him her best smile and subtly covered up the piece of paper she had been doodling pictures of bottles and cribs.

"I'm starving."

* * *

"So, Carol called me earlier." Andrea said over a plate of sesame chicken. "She wants to know when we're going to come down and visit."

Milton swallowed a bite of rice. "Well, classes end in a week and a half. We should be completely moved into our new apartment then. So, maybe in two weeks we can give them a visit."

She nodded. The last time she had seen her friend had been a couple months ago when they had gone down for Merle and Maggie's wedding. She still couldn't believe that the older Dixon was married.

Maggie was good for him, though.

"I wonder if Merle and Maggie have thought about having kids yet."

Andrea's fork clattered to her plate and she froze. Glancing up, she saw that Milton hadn't been looking at her when he had said it.

"Uh, I don't know." She finally said, her voice a little shaky. "It's been three months since they got married, I doubt Merle is done with having Maggie just to himself."

"You're probably right." Milton smiled. "A child is hard work and takes a lot of time and energy. I-I wouldn't mind having a child with you sometime in our future." He peeked at her, a blush creeping up his neck. "I know now wouldn't be a good time for one. With both of us still in school, it would be hard. "

With every word he said, the guilt piled on until it felt like she was suffocating. Squeezing her eyes shut, she tried to calm her breathing down. The Chinese food in her stomach felt heavy and knew that if she didn't calm down, she would throw it all up.

"I have a headache." She said suddenly and stood up. It was true, her head was pounding. "I'm going to take a shower and lie down."

"Okay." He looked like he wanted to say more to her, but instead he just sat there and studied her face. His eyes were narrowed slightly in confusion. He hadn't messed that she had been perfectly fine a few minutes earlier.

She fled the room before he could say anything more. The last thing she wanted was for him to ask what was wrong. There would be no way to explain her tears, if he did.

She softly shut the door to the bathroom and locked it. Ignoring herself in the reflection of the mirror, she turned on the water and quickly shed her clothes. Stepping under the scalding water, she winced but didn't move to cool it down.

Tears were already coursing down her face and her sobs were drown out by the sound of pouring water.

* * *

Milton stared at the empty seat his girlfriend just vacated. There was definitely something going on with her. She had been acting off for the past couple days and he didn't know why.

He tightened his grip on the fork he held. Was she getting bored of him? Was she acting strange because she wanted to break up with him?

It was only a matter of time, he supposed. She was beautiful, smart, kind and could have any man she wanted. In the five years they had been together, her eye never drifted to another man but he often wondered and worried that she would one day get sick of him.

He was awkward and shy. He wore glasses and didn't have the best sense of fashion. He never forgot an anniversary, but sometimes he would forget to ask about her day and sometimes didn't know how to comfort her when she was upset.

He heard the door to the bathroom open and seconds later he heard the door to their bedroom close. Did that mean he didn't want his company? She never acted this way before and he didn't know what to do.

His mind needed to be preoccupied. He needed something to do, maybe even someone to talk to. Daryl? Carol? Merle? Would they know what to do in this situation?

Milton cleaned up their meal, threw away the trash and washed, dried and put away the few dishes that were in the sink. It was getting late, but he didn't want to go to bed yet. He needed someone to talk to. So, he grabbed his phone and dialed a number. It rang a couple times before someone answered it.

"Hello, Merle?" He spoke into the receiver. "It's me, Milton."

 _"Milty?_ _The hell, man. I ain't talked to ya since the weddin'."_  Merle said.  _"So, do ya miss your ol' pal, Merle?"_

Milton smiled when he heard his friend's voice. It had been too long. "I have missed you, Merle. So, how's the married life?"

 _"It's good."_ The older Dixon chuckled.  _"Me and Maggie did have a pregnancy scare, though. Almost thought I would have to trade in my_ _fuckin'_ _bike for a minivan."_

"Do you not want children, Merle?" Milton found a seat at the tiny table in their kitchen. He had called Merle for a reason, but didn't mind catching up with him. It had been, after all, three months since they had last spoken.

_"I do, jus' not yet. I ain't finished with havin' Maggie all to myself. Did ya know she's a real spitfire in bed?"_

Milton rolled his eyes. You weren't having a real conversation with Merle unless he mentioned sex. He supposed that wasn't true. Merle had come a long way in the past five years and Maggie was the one to thank for that.

He had not touched a single drug since Maggie and hadn't gotten into any fights.

_"There_ _'s_ _a reason_ _you_ _call_ _ed_ _me,_ _isn't_ _there?_ _And it weren't jus' for a little chat._ _"_

Milton started. It was odd for Merle to pick up on that so quickly and he felt slightly ashamed that his friend had caught on early that he hadn't called him just for a chat.

"Uh, yeah." He admitted.

_"Well, what are friends for? Now, tell me what's troublin' ya?"_

Milton sighed. "I think there's something wrong with Andrea. Her behavior has seemed a bit off these past couple days and she isn't telling me what's wrong."

_"Have ya guys gotten into a fight recently?"_

"No."

_"Did ya forget an anniversary?"_

"No."

_"Hmm, have ya proposed yet?"_

The question took Milton by surprise. "N-No."

 _"The fuck, man!"_  Merle exclaimed in disbelief.  _"Ya two have been together five years and ya ain't asked her to tie the knot, yet? Hell, my ass got married and I'm pretty sure Daryl's waitin' for the perfect time to pop the question to his woman."_

"I-I was going to wait until after I was done with school to ask her." He stuttered. "She knows I want to marry her someday."

_"Does she?"_

"Well, yeah, I tell her I love her all the time."

_"Sometimes that ain't enough. Maybe ya should tell_ _her_ _that ya can't wait to spend the rest of your life with her. Tell her ya plan on proposin' to her when you're done with school. Maybe she's thinkin' that ya don't plan on marryin' her."_

"Okay. I'll tell her that." Milton smiled. "Thanks for the advice." He laughed. "Who would have thought I would go to Merle Dixon for advice?"

_"Hey! I did just get married, so obviously I'm doin' somethin' right when it comes to women."_

"I guess you're right, Merle."

_"Ya guess?!"_

Milton chuckled. "Well, I'm going to let you go. Thanks again and hopefully me and Andrea will come up to visit soon."

_"About fuckin' time ya decide to visit."_

"So, I'll see you probably in a few weeks. Bye, Merle."

 _"Bye, Milty."_  They both hung up.

Milton stared at the phone for a few seconds before he put it up. Merle was right. He needed to ask Andrea what was wrong. Needed to tell her that he loved her and wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. He wanted to let her know that the moment he graduated he would get down on one knee and propose.

After they got married, they could have a family. There children would be smart  _and_ beautiful.


	4. Chapter Four

**Chapter Four**

That night, Carol laid awake with Daryl. Both of them talking softly to one another. Most nights they would do this until one of them fell asleep. Carol knew that she should be closing her eyes soon because she had school the next morning, but she liked to listen to Daryl's chest rumble as he talked.

At times, his voice could be rough. His accent sometimes got more pronounced when he was mad or excited. At night, though, his voice was soft and deep as he talked about his day. A hand would always brush along her spine as he talked and the touch was reassuring. It meant he was there with her and this wasn't some kind of dream.

"Merle called me the other day." Her lips curved up when she felt his chest rumble with the words.

"Yeah?"

"He was freakin' out."

Carol lifted her head to look at him. "Why? Is there something wrong with Maggie?"

"Naw." He shook his head. "He jus' thought that Maggie was pregnant." He was talking about it like it was no big deal.

"Pregnant? Why didn't you tell me sooner? I could have given her a call and asked how she was doing!" She sat up more in the bed.

"Hey," He grabbed her wrist and pulled her back down. "It ain't no big deal. He told me he'd let me know if she was."

Carol snuggled back up to her boyfriend and placed her cheek back over his heart. "Well, is she?"

He shrugged. "Don't know. He hasn't called me back, yet. I figure she ain't otherwise he'd probably call me cryin' and tellin' I'm gonna be an uncle or some shit like that."

 _And I'd be an aunt._  She couldn't stop the smile that spread across her face. It would be nice to have little Dixons running around. Even if they were going to be little Merle Dixons.

"He didn't think he would make a good daddy that was the main reason why he was freakin' out."

"He'd make a great father."

"That's what I told him. Don't know if he believed me or not. Our daddy was fucked up and we didn't learn any good shit from him." There was a hard tone to his voice as he talked about his father. "But ya best believe that if my brother has a kid, he's gonna treat 'em right and they're gonna have a great childhood."

She nodded. "I agree."

He settled more in the bed and tightened his grip on her. "Ya should get to sleep. Ya have children to teach in the mornin'. They ain't gonna learn nothin' if you're yawin' all day."

"I hate getting up early." She grumbled.

He chuckled. "Then why did ya become a fuckin' teacher?"

"June, July and August." She smiled.

He rolled his eyes. "Ya love them kids, that's why. Ya can't fool me, woman."

She moved her head until it was buried in the crook of his neck. "Come with me, tomorrow." She whispered.

"To your school? The hell? Ya want me to scare off them kids?"

"You won't scare them off, Daryl." She giggled. "I've just mentioned you a couple times and my students want to meet you before school lets out."

"I work early tomorrow, so I can't. Sorry." He didn't sound sorry at all.

"How about Friday, then?" She wasn't going to give this up. "It's show-and-tell and I really, really." She nipped at his earlobe. " _Really_  want to show off my strong, handsome redneck man."

"Fine." He grumbled. "But I'm only doin' it cuz ya called me handsome."

* * *

The next morning, Carol's alarm clock went off early and she was tempted to just throw the thing at the wall. That was how she felt every morning, but teaching her students was worth all the early mornings. They were her first group of students and they would forever be special to her.

"Hey, ya gonna get your lazy ass up?" Daryl grumbled from his side of the bed. "Some of us don't have to get up for a couple more hours."

She wanted to stick her tongue out at him, but opted for rolling her eyes and climbing out of bed, instead.

"You know, a perfect boyfriend would make his girlfriend breakfast while she got ready." She pulled out clothes and looked over her shoulder.

"Well, good thing I ain't a perfect boyfriend." He growled before he flipped his body to the other side.

Carol huffed. Fine, if he wasn't going to be a good boyfriend this morning then she wasn't going to be a good girlfriend later tonight. Let's see how he liked that.

She quickly grabbed some clothes and headed towards the bathroom where she would get dressed, fix her hair and do her make-up. This was her routine every weekday. After slipping on simple black skirt that flared out a little at her knees and a nice light blue shirt, she looked at herself in the mirror and winced. She was having a serious case of bed head.

"Me and Daryl didn't even have sex last night." She muttered and grabbed a brush to straighten it out. It took her almost ten minutes to tame her hair and pull it back in a ponytail.

She did her make-up quickly and made her way to the kitchen. Maybe they still had a few granola bars to take with her to work; hopefully Daryl hadn't eaten them all.

Walking into the kitchen, she was surprised to see Daryl standing there with his back to her. She hadn't even heard him as he walked past the bathroom to get to the kitchen.

He turned around, a bowl of cereal in his hand and gave her a smile. "Breakfast." He slid the bowl in her spot, grabbed one for himself and sat down.

She sat down silently and dug in. It wasn't exactly the breakfast she had hoped he'd make for her but she was grateful for it anyway.

"Jus' thought I show ya, that I am a perfect boyfriend after all." Daryl smirked at her between bites of his food.

She returned the smirk. "You just didn't want to get cut off tonight."

His eyes widen in shock. "Ya was gonna cut me off? That's cruel."

Slurping up the rest of her milk, not minding that she looked like a slob in front of her boyfriend, he was use to it. She shrugged.

She stood up, grabbed both of their empty bowls and placed them in the sink. She would clean them later. Now, she was running a little late.

"I'll see you later." But before she could leave the kitchen, he had wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her into his lap.

"What about my good-bye kiss, woman?" Without waiting for an answer, he kissed her soundly.

It almost made her not want to leave.  _Almost._

"I have to go." She pushed gently on his chest and stood up. "My students aren't going to teach themselves." She gave him another quick kiss. "I'll see you when you get home, okay?"

"Okay." He reluctantly let her go. This was their routine almost every morning. She'd get up for work; he'd moan and groan about having to get up, too but would eventually. Sometimes he would have something ready for her to eat, other times he didn't.

The one time he had tried to make her eggs and bacon, he had burnt them so bad they looked like pieces of charcoal. He had refused to cook her breakfast since. Instead, he would make her a bowl of cereal or press a granola bar in her hand.

"Charlie is still sick. I don't know if I'll have to stay a little later at work, today or not." He called after her.

She turned and pouted. "He's been sick for a week, Daryl. You should go to his house sometime and see if he's doing okay. Maybe you can convince him to go to the doctor."

He nodded. "Alright. If he ain't feelin' better in the next couple of days then I'll stop by to try and get him to go to the doctor."

"Good." She smiled. "Because with him being sick, means you have to work more and that's less time I get to see you." With a wink, she finally walked out of the kitchen.

She was definitely going to be late now.

* * *

Their small town had one small elementary school and it was on the other side of town. Opposite of their old high school. It was a one story brick building, with a small, fenced-in playground in the back. There was only ten classrooms. Each grade, kindergarten through fourth, had two classrooms and only about fifteen or so students in each.

Carol didn't mind the smallness of it. With fewer students to teach, she could spend more time with each one and learn what their strengths and weaknesses were. She loved her students and they loved her.

"Mornin', Ms. Spencer." A small blond girl named Emily greeted her when she walked into the door. She gave her a bright smile and returned the greeting.

Setting her stuff on the desk, she looked over at her classroom and noticed that all the desks were filled with eager students, except for one.

"Does anyone know where Shawn is?" She asked her class. It was rare when one of her students went missing when it wasn't flu season.

Emily raised her hand and nearly bounced out of her seat. Carol called on her.

"The other day my mommy was talkin' to his mommy and she said he was sick." With a bright smile, she lowered her hand.

"Hmm, alright." She checked his name off on the attendance sheet and then placed it back on her desk, so she could address her class again. "Everyone, do you remember what we did when Sam was sick?"

They all nodded their heads eagerly.

"We made him a 'Get Well Soon' card." Bending down, she opened one of the drawers to her desk and produced a large piece of yellow construction paper. "We're going to make one for Shawn, too!"

An hour later, Carol held up the large card proudly. It was full of smiley faces, hearts and 'get well soon's. All the students had signed the inside and Carol had written him a little note that said that everyone had missed him in class that day.

"He's going to love this!" She announced. "I'll deliver to him after school and tomorrow I'll let you all know what he says." She placed the card in a safe place on her desk.

"Now," she clapped her hands together to get their attention. "It's time for us to do some learning. Everyone get out your spelling book and turn to page 99, please." They all did as she requested, except for Emily, who had her hand raised again.

"Yes, Emily?"

"When are you gonna bring your boyfriend in?" She asked and many of the other students responded with 'Yeah's and 'I wanna meet him'.

"He has to be very handsome to have a pretty girlfriend like you, Ms. Spencer." said a brown-haired boy named James. She always suspected he had a crush on her.

"Do you really want to meet him?" When all of them responded with eager nods, she continued. . "Well, you all are in luck. He's agreed to be my show-and-tell on Friday!"

Her class cheered. If Daryl could see how excited they were to meet him.

"Is he gonna bring his crossbow? If he does, can I touch it?" Carrie, a red-headed girl with glasses, jumped out of her seat and bounced on her toes.

"I'm sorry, Carrie." Carol frowned. "He can't bring that into school with him."

The room filled with 'Aww's. She couldn't help but roll her eyes good-naturally at all of them. "Alright, now we really need to get down to spelling."

Once again, the room was filled with 'Aw's.

* * *

Her feet hurt from being on them all day, moving from desk to desk, but she would never regret becoming a teacher. But now, all she wanted to do was go home, soak her feet and maybe pop in a movie to watch before Daryl came home. Maybe they could order a pizza and just relax on the couch, together.

That sounded nice.

First, though, she had to drop off Shawn's card. He only lived five minutes away from their home, so that was a plus. Pulling into the driveway of a two-story home, she climbed out with card in hand and walked up to the front door.

She only had to wait a few seconds after she rang the doorbell before someone opened the door. A tall middle-aged woman with brown-hair and light green eyes opened the door. She looked tired but still managed to give Carol a smile.

"Ms. Spencer, how nice it is to see you!" Her eyes flicked to the yellow cardboard in her hand. "Is that for Shawn?"

Carol nodded.

"I'll take it." She gently grabbed it when Carol handed it to her. "I would have you come in and see him, but he's sleeping and I wouldn't want you to catch what he has."

She tilted her head slightly and asked. "Do you know what he has? Flu? Cold?"

"I don't know." She sighed. "He just started to get a fever last night, so I decided to have him stay home. He was up an hour ago and ate some soup before he went back to sleep. I'm thinking it's the flu, which is odd for this time of year, but hopefully he'll get better and be back to school soon."

"My class and I hope so, too. They miss him."

"And I'm sure he misses them too. I'll tell him that you stopped by and I hope you'll be seeing him in class soon."

"I hope so, too."

The two woman waved good-bye and Carol was relieved to finally be able to go home and relax. Then another thought came to her and she quickly checked the time. A smile played on her lips. The garage closed in a half hour and Daryl would still have to stay another hour after that to do some paperwork. Maybe she could visit him and sit in his lap as he did it.

All thoughts of soaking her feet went to the back of her mind as she pulled out of Shawn's driveway and headed in the direction of the garage.

Daryl was in for a surprise.

* * *

Daryl wiped his oily hands on the red rag he always had in his pocket and made his way to the office in the back of the garage. He had just finished looking at his last client of the day and now wanted to finish up the paperwork Charlie was leaving him so he could get home.

Opening the door to the office, he was relieved when the air-conditioning hit him in the face. Today had been a hot one and nice cool shower sounded good right now. But he had work to do.

He settled into the swivel chair in front of the large wooden desk and allowed for his bones and muscles to settle. As his body relaxed, his eyes roamed over the top of the desk and landed on the manila folder he needed. Inside that folder were the papers he needed to look over.

The door to the office opened suddenly and before he could register what the hell was going on, he found Carol perched on his desk. Her legs were crossed and she was smiling down at him.

"The hell ya doin' here, woman?" He finally managed to choke out. He was still surprised that she was actually  _here._ She had never visited him at work before.

She pouted. "What? I can't visit my boyfriend at work, now? I thought that's what girlfriend's did." She uncrossed her legs, leaned towards him, gripping the edge of the desk as she did. "Do you want me to leave?"

His eyes roamed her body, starting from her calves all the way up to her lips. Her nice pink lips. "N-no, ya can stay." Why the hell was he so nervous? "Jus' don't get in my way, so I can finish this paperwork." His eyes went to the desk and he searched it's surface.

She held up the manila folder. "This paperwork?"

"Yeah." He reached for it but she held it out of his reach. He gave her an annoyed look, but she just smiled brightly back at him. Unfazed.

"You have to give me a kiss for it." She hid the folder behind her back and tilted her face towards his and waited.

He stood up then, so now he slightly towered over her. "Jus' a kiss?" He asked and moved his face closer to hers.

"Yeah." She licked her lips, closed her eyes and waited.

"Alright."

Their lips nearly touched, when one of the hands he had been sneaking around her back grabbed the folder from her hands. Before she could protest, he placed a wet kiss on her cheek and sat back in his seat.

"Ya said I would get this back if I gave ya kiss." He opened the folder and flipped through the contents. A smug grin on his face.

She crossed her arms and huffed, not looking at him. "You know that wasn't the kind of kiss I wanted, Daryl."

His eyes were glued to the papers in his hands. "Oh. Ya should have been more specific, then."

If he had been looking at her, then he would have seen the gleam of mischief in her eyes and would have prepared for it. Instead, he was completely taken by surprise when she snatched the folder from his hands and straddled his lap.

"The hell ya doin'?"

"What does it look like, Daryl?" She wrapped her arms around his neck. "I'm going to get that kiss you stole from me."

His next words were cut off as she slammed her lips on his. There was nothing gentle about this kiss and it took him awhile to finally catch up to it. She had just slipped her tongue in his mouth when she suddenly pulled away.

Daryl almost couldn't stop the whine coming from his throat.

Carol's arms crossed in front of her and she pulled her shirt over her head. She sat in his lap, skirt bunching around his hips and her light blue shirt fluttered to the ground.

"Carol." He hissed and tightened his grip on her hips. "We  _can't_  do this here."

"Why not?" Her lips ghosted along his neck. "The door is locked, Charlie is sick and no one else will be coming here." She nipped his earlobe. "This is the perfect time and you can't tell me you've never wanted to have sex in your office before."

"This ain't my office. This is Char-" She cut him off with her lips and ground her hips against his.

"Is that a marker in your pocket, Daryl, or are you happy to see me?" One of her hands slid down to jeans and soon had them unbuttoned. God, he couldn't believe they were doing this  _here_. He would never be able to look Charlie in the eye again.

"You know, you can touch me." She grabbed one of his hands and placed it over one of her breasts. "Come on, Daryl, I'm starting to think you don't want this. Do you want this?"

He bucked up into her. "Is that a good enough answer for ya, woman." He growled.

Her hand suddenly went under the elastic band of his boxers and wrapped around him. His forehead went to her shoulder and groaned.

"You're fuckin' killin' me here." He mumbled into her shoulder.

Her hand was gone and she was standing up. Daryl reached for her, hating the loss of her body on his, but she only smiled and shimmied out of her panties.

Oh.

She moved to settle back in his lap, but he was on his feet and lifted her on the desk. With one swipe, all the papers that littered the desk were on the ground.

Wrapping her legs around his waist, she pulled him closer. "Someone is a little eager, aren't we?"

"Ya complain'?" He fiddled with the clasp of her bra and soon that joined her shirt on the floor.

"No." She giggled and started tugging his pants down.

Without another word, he thrust into her. Her legs tightened around him and she scrambled for purchase on his shoulders.

"Ya know," he whispered as his tongue traced the outer shell of her ear. "When we're done here, ya can help me clean this mess up. It's your fault, after all."

All she could do was nod as he began to thrust into her slowly.

Suddenly she was leaning back and pulling him along, so now he was lying partially on top of her. This gave him a new angle and she whimpered every time he moved. With her rapid breaths and the tightening of her legs around his waist, he knew that she was getting close. He was, too.

One forearm was pressed against the wood of the desk, holding him up, and the other hand was buried in Carol's hair as he kissed her hungrily when both of them reached their peak together.

Both of them were sweaty and breathing heavily, but neither moved.

"So, do we get to do this on your desk, next?" Daryl smirked down at her and moved a piece of sweaty hair from her face.

"Maybe in the summertime, when there is no one in the building." Her hands still gripped his shoulders.

"Ya know," he moved off of her and pulled up his pants. "I'm gonna take ya up on that offer sometime."

"I know." she smirked and climbed off the desk to grab her clothes. "I'll be counting on it."

 


	5. Chapter Five

**Chapter 5**

After the two of them cleaned up the mess of papers and placed them back where they had belonged or where they had  _thought_  they belonged, Carol decided that maybe she should head home and let Daryl actually get some work done. Besides, she really needed a shower.

It hadn't been her original plan to jump his bones in Charlie's office, but after she had settled herself in his lap and felt him harden, she knew there was no turning back. It was also nice to have sex somewhere outside of their home. She ignored how bad that sounded.

Running her fingers through her hair to make it look less like she just had sex, she turned to Daryl who was sitting back in the chair but this time instead of holding a folder of papers he was bent over some on the desk with a pen in hand.

"So, I'm going to head home now." She said to him. "Do you know when you'll be done with all this?"

He glanced up at her and then looked at the papers scattered across the desk. "I should be done in about a half hour."

"Okay." She fixed her skirt. "I was thinking that we could order a pizza and watch a movie, tonight. Does that sound good?"

He nodded. "Yeah." A smirk formed on his face and his eyes roamed her frame. "For some reason, I'm fuckin' starvin'."

She blushed. "We'll order it when you get home."

"Alright, I'll see you later." He went back to his work.

Carol watched him for a little bit, before she left. He took his job seriously and was proud of the fact that his boss, Charlie, had trusted him enough to run the garage while he was away. Even back when they were in high school, it seemed Charlie had seen something in Daryl and had treated him with great respect every summer Daryl had worked for him.

Sometimes, she even thought that he considered Charlie a sort of father figure. The man sure as hell treated Daryl as if he was his son. He had even offered Merle a job a few years back, but the older Dixon already had a secure job with a local construction company. He had declined. Politely, too.

Maggie was doing wonders on Merle's attitude.

At the thought of Maggie, Carol remembered what Daryl had told her the night before. She could be pregnant. She wondered if she should give the older woman a visit, but decided against it when she realized how she looked.

She looked like she had just had sex.

"I'll talk to her tomorrow." She muttered to herself when she climbed into her car.

Few minutes later, she was home and made a beeline for the bathroom but the sudden ringing of their house phone caused her to make a detour to the kitchen.

Picking up, she answered with a tired hello. The shower was calling her name and the last thing she wanted to do was get stuck talking on the phone.

 _"Hey, honey!"_ Instantly, she brightened when she heard the voice on the other end.

"Dad!"

_"How's my girl doing?"_

"I'm doing great!" She smiled. "I just got off work and I plan on relaxing the rest of the day. How about you? How's Sharon? How's the vacation in Florida?"

 _"It's going great. Wish you were here, though."_ Her dad sighed.  _"Sharon's parents keep pushing us to have a baby and I know if you were down here, they would see that I already have my hands full with you."_

"Hey!" She laughed.

_"But seriously though, I don't want another baby. I'm too old and Sharon doesn't want one either. She says she has all the daughter she wants in you."_

"Aw, and I have all the mother I want in her." Carol said. It was true. Over the five years of knowing her, three of which Sharon had actually been her step-mom; she had been a better mother to her than her own had been in the ten years she had been there.

 _"So, how are you and Daryl doing?"_ Carol blushed as she remembered what they had done earlier in Charlie's office.

"We're doing fine." At that moment, Daryl walked into the kitchen and raised an eyebrow at her. "In fact, he just got back from work. Wanna talk to him?"

Daryl's eyes widened and he shook his head fiercely. Carol smirked and held the phone out to him, but he refused to take it.

_"How about I talk to him at another time? Sharon wants to go swimming."_

"But it's dark out!" Her eyes flicked to the window to make sure that it was what she had said.

_"That's the point."_

"Ew, gross!" She cried with a grimace.

Marc laughed.  _"Well, I'll talk to you two later! Love you."_

"Love you, too!" Then they both hung up.

Hanging up the phone, she looked over at Daryl, who still stood in the doorway to the kitchen arms crossed over his chest, and gave him a smile. He didn't return it.

"I can't believe ya asked him to talk to me." He growled. "Ya know how much I hate talkin' on the phone and your dad makes me nervous."

Carol walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his waist. "You still get nervous around him?"

Daryl didn't look at her. "Well, yeah. It might be because I'm sleepin' with his daughter on a daily basis that causes it."

She rolled her eyes and let him. "He knows we have sex, Daryl."

"He does?" His eyes grew wide. "Shit."

"We live together. It doesn't take a genius to figure that one out." She walked past him and headed for the shower.

"Do ya think that I can convince him that I sleep in the spare bedroom?" He followed closely behind her.

"You mean the spare bedroom that has my desk and school stuff?" She turned and faced him. "Nice try, Daryl." She winked. "I'm going to take a shower. Alone. And while I'm in there you should call for a pizza, okay?"

He looked disappointed at the fact that he couldn't join her, but he was hungry and a pizza did sound good. "Fine."

* * *

Daryl had just got off the phone with the pizza place when his cell phone starting ringing. Rolling his eyes as he took it out of his pocket, he knew exactly who it was. The only other person who ever called his phone besides Carol was Merle.

"What ya want, Merle?"

_"Shit, bro. I was jus' calling to tell ya Maggie ain't pregnant."_

"When did ya find this out?" Daryl took a seat at the table in the kitchen and listened for Carol in the bathroom. The moment she got out, he was hopping in. The motor oil on his skin was making him feel disgusting.

_"Uh, two days ago."_

Daryl rolled his eyes. "And ya just tellin' me now? Ya would think ya would tell me right away since ya were in such a hurry to freak out on me."

_"Hey! It ain't my fault me and Maggie celebrated after we found out."_

He grimaced. "Ya celebrated for  _two_  days?" Why was he even asking that question? He didn't want to know about his brother's sex life!

_"Naw, jus' that one night, but then I forgot all about it the nex_ _t_ _day."_

"Oh, all right. Well, I told Carol and she seemed worried for Maggie, so she'll be glad to hear the news."

"Here what news?" Carol walked into the kitchen, then. A towel wrapped around her head and wearing a pair of pajama shorts and a tank top.

"That Maggie ain't pregnant." Daryl answered her.

"Oh. Well, that's good. Right?" She took the seat across from him.

He nodded and then turned back to the phone. "Look, I gotta go, Merle. Talk to ya later, I guess." He flipped his phone closed and stood up. "The pizza is gonna be here in fifteen minutes." He bent and kissed her on the forehead. "I'm gonna go and take a shower."

* * *

Carol was in the kitchen refilling Daryl's plate full of pizza. She had only two pieces, but it looked like he was about to eat the rest. She smirked, remembering the reason why he was so hungry. Carrying the plate to the living room, she noticed that he had turned the channel.

She handed the plate and he mumbled his thank you, then took her own seat in the middle cushion with her back was pressed against his waist.

"What are we watching now?" She watched him take a bite.

"News." he answered around his bite of pizza. "I guess there was this disease going around near the coast in Florida and they finally found a vaccine for it. They want all the Florida citizens to take it. I guess it really was a nasty disease."

Carol crossed her legs in front of her and watched the TV. "I'm glad we don't have to get it. I hate shots."

"Me too."

"I'm glad my dad and Sharon are coming home, soon. I don't want them to catch whatever it was."

Daryl grabbed the remote and turned the channel. Now, a DVD play menu was playing. He sat up on the couch and pulled her into his lap.

"Are ya ready to watch this damn movie?" He growled into her hair.

She couldn't help but smile. "You know, I love it when you let me pick what we watch."

* * *

Milton hadn't seen Andrea all day. When he had woken up that morning, she had already left for her classes. He still hadn't gotten the chance to talk to her. When he had gone into their room last night, she had been sound asleep and he hadn't wanted to wake her up.

Now, he was home from his own classes and went immediately to search for her. Usually, she was home at this time.

"Andrea?" He called and received no answer. But that didn't mean she wasn't home. He checked the bathroom and their room. Still no sign of her.

The door to their office was closed and Milton knew she had to be in there. So, he opened the door and smiled when he saw her sitting at her desk, nose in one of her law books.

"Hey, Andrea."

She swiveled around in her chair. "Hey, Milton." This time her smile didn't look faked. She looked genuinely happy to see him.

He walked over and kissed her, which she returned ardently and wrapped her arms around his neck. Before things could go any further, he pulled away and kneeled at her feet. Grabbing both of her hands in his is, he looked up at her.

"Andrea, we need to talk."

Something flashed in her eyes and it looked like panic, but it was soon gone and was replaced with concern.

"What is it, Milton?"

He let go of one of her hands and pushed his glasses up further on his nose. "The past few days, Andrea, you've seemed...upset. Is there something troubling you? Have I done something wrong?"

"No!" She was quick to say with a fierce shake of her head. "I've just been feeling...stressed lately." Her eyes didn't meet his. "It's nothing you've done. I promise." She gave him a reassuring smile.

He searched her face for any signs that told him she was lying, but didn't see any. "Are you sure?"

She nodded. "It's just that it's the end of the year and I've been bogged down with all this work I have to do. I'm sorry you thought there was something up."

Milton looked over her shoulder and found a stack of papers on her desk. "Would you like me to get you something to drink? Coffee?

"Um, can I have some tea, instead?"

He blinked. He was the tea drinker, not her. She never drank the stuff, especially when there was coffee available.

She must have seen his look of confusion. "I need something to soothe my nerves."

"Oh, all right." He stood up and gave her a smile. "I'll make you some tea."

"Thank you."

"No problem, Andrea." And he walked out the door and went straight to the kitchen. If he had stayed a few minutes longer, he would have seen the lone tear slip from Andrea's eye.


	6. Chapter Six

**Chapter Six**

Buck Dixon hated being in prison. He hated everything about it. The bed, the food, the fact that he had to pee in front of other people. Everything. During his younger days, he had been in and out of prison and vowed to never go back there again once he met his future wife. He wasn't willing to change his ways though. He still wanted to smoke, drink and snort the occasional line. No officer of the law was ever gonna put there hands on him again. Not if he could fuckin' help it!

Then along came Marc fuckin' Spencer. Of course, his two good for nothing sons would have someone else fight their battles for them. Couple of fuckin' pussies. And for the record, he would have won that fight too if he hadn't been drunk off his ass.

One month. One month and his ass was out of here. The first thing he was going to do was kill that bastard. Well, maybe not kill him. That was a fuckin' life sentence, but maybe he could rough him up good enough to let him know that nobody messed with Buck Dixon and got away with it.

Yeah, that's what he would do. Then after he did that, he would move onto his boys. It had been five years after all and they each deserved a good pounding.

With a smirk, he leaned back on his tiny mattress and looked up at the bottom of the bunk above him. Yep, he was gonna have himself some fun when he finally got out of here.

An hour later, he heard some bang on the bars to his cell and was roused out of his nap.

"What the fuck?" He growled at the prison guard who stood there. "I was tryin' to fuckin' sleep if ya didn't notice."

The guard ignored him and instead shoved a man into his cell. He was wearing the same orange jumpsuit as him, which classified him as a fellow prisoner.

"Looks like you have a new prison mate, Buck." The guard's face remained emotionless as he spoke.

Buck raked his eyes over the man standing in the middle of his cell. He average height, average build, maybe slightly overweight, and probably used to be in the military, if the buzz cut informed him correctly.

He looked past the scowling orange jump suited man and spoke to the guard. "He got a name?" For some reason he felt like he knew this man.

"Yeah," the guard said as he began walking away. "Ed Peletier."

* * *

Ed Peletier scowled at his roommate. The man was big but he didn't fuckin' scare him. Hell, he had beat the shit out of men bigger than him in the military. The man, Buck was his name, did look familiar, though, he couldn't help but notice when he saw how blue his eyes were.

"Are ya a fuckin' queer? Cuz if ya are then I ain't afraid to kick your ass." Buck stood up and stared him down. He was at least six inches taller than him.

"I ain't a queer." He shouldered past him and headed towards the leader leading up to his bunk.

"Then stop starin' at me like ya is one." He growled at his back.

Ed didn't respond and settled down into his mattress. He was already messing the cot he had to sleep on back at base. The last five years of his life had not been enjoyable. He hated being in the military and only stayed in it because his father threatened to cut him off if he didn't. The red convertible he use to have was already gone, so he didn't doubt his father.

Four years, his father had said, he had to stay in the military for that long and then he could quit and live his life. The first thing he had done once the four years was up was move out of his parent's home and got his own apartment.

That freedom had been cut short though. He had been on his own for a year and decided to celebrate with a bunch of his friends. They would hit the bars and pick up women.

The fight he had gotten into had caused him to be kicked out of the bar. He walked to his car drunk and alone. The night was still young and there were other bars he could go too. He hadn't gone five minutes without being pulled over and hauled in for drinking and driving.

This had been his second offense.

"So, boy," Buck said from his bed beneath him. "How long ya in here for?"

"Thirty days." He replied back.

"Huh, looks like we'll be gettin' out at the same time."

Ed shifted until he laid on his side and was looking at the opposite wall of their tiny cell. "What are you in here for?"

"Drug possession. You?"

"DUI."

Buck snorted. "What a pansy ass reason to be sittin' in a jail cell. Sounds like somethin' my oldest son would get himself into though."

"Fuck you, old man." He growled. "It's my second offense. Got my first one when I was only eighteen."

"How old are ya now?"

"Twenty-three."

"Well, looks like you've been a fuckin' goody-goody these past five years then?" Buck chuckled. "Ya sound like my youngest son, Daryl. I can't see that boy ever gettin' jail time. He was a fuckin' pussy if ya ask me."

Daryl? Ed shot up at the mention of the name and bolted over the side of his bunk to stand in front of his prison mate. The older man looked at him in surprise.

"Daryl? You have a son named Daryl?"

Buck swung his legs over the side of the bed and sat up. "Yeah. Ya deaf or somethin'? And what's it to ya?"

"Your last name ain't Dixon, is it?"

"'Course it is!" He stood up. "Why? Do ya know my son?"

"Yeah, I know your son." Ed said between gritted teeth. "I fuckin' went to school with the bastard."

"Hey, that's my blood ya talkin' about there, boy." He smiled. "Now, tell me what the little shit did to ya. Maybe I'll finally have somethin' to be proud of, eh?"

* * *

Charlie's house was situated in the outskirts of town and almost completely surrounded by woods. His home was nothing more than a one room cabin and Daryl knew he could afford something bigger, but he also knew Charlie liked his seclusion from the rest of the town.

If he didn't have Carol, Daryl could see himself living in similar conditions. Especially with a house as close to the woods as Charlie's. All he would have to do in the morning was step out his back door and he'd be surrounded by trees and could go hunting.

Daryl pulled up into the driveway and parked next to his boss's rusty old truck. He looked at with a smile. It reminded him of the truck he drove back when he was in high school. He'd still be driving it if it hadn't completely died on him two years ago.

Climbing out of his vehicle, he walked up to Charlie's door and knocked. The minutes ticked by and no one answered. He was home. He had to be. His truck was here. Maybe he was sleeping...or dying. With that thought Daryl opened the door, surprised to find it unlocked, and went to search for friend. He took his phone in case he had to call for an ambulance or something. But after a full search of his home, Daryl came up with nothing.

Maybe he was in the woods on a walk. Maybe he was feeling better and just wanted some fresh air. So, Daryl walked out the backdoor and hoped to spot the man walking through the trees.

Nope. Nothing.

Something crunched under his boot and he looked down. It was a piece of glass. Daryl bent down and picked it up and looked around. It was the glass he could find. Stepping down from the porch, he was surprised to see that the last step was stained with something dark.

Crouching down, Daryl got a better look. It was blood. He knew that Charlie liked to hunt, so he must have gutted something here and some of the blood got on his steps. Yeah, that was it.

Daryl ignored the uneasy feeling in his stomach as he walked back to his truck. There was nothing wrong. Everything was fine. Charlie was fine.

There was nothing wrong.

* * *

Carol sighed in relief as she placed her feet on the coffee table in front of her and opened one of her favorite books. She was glad to be home and able to relax. Today had been stressful. The kids had been rowdy and extremely talkative.

"Three more days." She muttered to herself and snuggled into the couch. "School ends on Tuesday, Carol. Only three more days."

Then she would have the whole summer off and her time would be spent doing absolutely nothing. Except Daryl. She'd be definitely  _doing_  him. She smiled evilly to herself and began to read. It wasn't long before she was completely immersed in another world.

* * *

Daryl found Carol in the living room with her nose in a book. He smiled at the sight. Maybe after his shower he could curl up with her. Today felt like a lazy day and nothing sounded better than just relaxing on the couch.

She must have heard him walk in, because she tore her eyes from her book and and gave him a bright smile.

"Hey!"

He smiled back. "Hey."

Setting her book down, she turned her body to face him. "So, how was Charlie? Did you make his stubborn butt go to the doctor?"

Daryl shifted his feet and chewed at his thumbnail. A sign that he wasn't sure of something. "He wasn't there."

Carol's eyes widened. "What?"

"His truck was there, but when I checked his house I didn't see him. I think he must have gone for a walk or somethin'. Didn't check to see if his gun was there, but maybe he went huntin'."

"Do you think he was even sick to begin with?" She hurried on when he gave her a confused look. "What I'm saying is, maybe he wasn't sick. Maybe he just wanted a vacation or something."

He shook his head. "He was sick. Ya should have heard him on the phone. Maybe he's better and decided to take the rest of the week off?"

"That could be it, too." She suddenly smiled. "Look at us worrying over him so much. I bet you he's fine. Now, why don't you take a shower and I'll fix supper." She walked over to him and gave him a quick kiss on the mouth. "Pancakes sound good?"

He nodded and tugged her back to him for another kiss. Before the kiss could get too heated she shoved him gently away and swatted him on the chest.

"Shower and when you get out, I'll have a plate ready for you."

With another nod and another kiss, he was off in the direction of the bathroom. She watched him go for a moment, before she made her way to the kitchen.

* * *

"You know, I was thinking about Charlie, again, while you were in the shower." Carol said after she swallowed a bite of pancake.

"Yeah." Daryl grunted beside her and polished off his third pancake. They were sitting together on the couch eating their meal.

"One of my students, Shawn, has been out all week and I wonder if he has the same thing Charlie did. If that's the case, he should be getting better soon, right?"

"He should." Daryl set his empty plate on the coffee table and took Carol's empty one from her and did the same.

"Maybe he'll be back before school lets out on Tuesday. That way he could see everyone before the summer starts." She started sucking syrup from her fingers.

Suddenly Daryl grabbed her wrist and pulled her hand away from her face. "That's my job." His eyes never left hers as he sucked one of her fingers in his mouth. His tongue twirled around the fingertip.

She had to look away lest he see the desire in her eyes.

They were  _not_  going to have sex on the couch. She had just cleaned it.

He moved on to her middle finger and all she could think about was having his mouth on other parts of her body.

_Nope, bad Carol. Can't be thinking like that now._

One strong arm wrapped around her waist and she found herself straddling Daryl's lap. His mouth immediately descended to his favorite spot on her neck. She tried to push him away, but he was too strong.

"Daryl." She whined. "Not here."

"The bedroom's too far."

"But I just cleaned the couch."

"So?" His voice was muffled. "We're the only ones who sit on it." He began to lower her back on the cushions. "'Sides, I don't mind if smells like ya."

He crawled above her and attacked her neck with his lips and teeth. It took great control to suppress a moan. She was not going to let him win.

"Come on, Carol." His tongue left a wet trail from the base of her throat to her ear. "Ya know ya want this."

"I do." She admitted and he smirked. "But not here." She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him.

The smirk never left his face. "I think I can make ya change your mind."

"Good luck with that." She huffed.

Just then his hand slipped beneath the waistband of her panties.

_No fair! That was cheating!_

One of his fingers slipped and had her arching her back.

To hell with the couch.

She grabbed his face in both her hands and kissed him hard.

Later, they laid naked with sweat cooling on their skin and soaking into the cushions. The once  _clean_  cushions. Daryl held her in his arms, legs tangled with hers and his back was facing the room. She was nice and warm pressed against the back of the couch and his body.

He smirked in her hair. "I knew ya couldn't resist me."

She resisted the urge to shove him off the couch and instead leaned over his body, giving him a nice view of her breasts and groped around by the end of the couch until her hand found what she was looking for. A large blanket.

She flung the blanket over their bodies and snuggled back into his chest. All thoughts of a missing friend and sick student couldn't be further from their minds as they drifted off to sleep.


	7. Chapter Seven

**Chapter 7**

"Do I really have to go?" Daryl grumbled as he stood in front of their closest. Carol stood behind him, fully dressed and ready to go.

"Yep!" She smiled. "You said you would and I already told me students you were coming in." She wrapped her arms around him and kissed his shoulder. "You wouldn't want to disappoint them, would you?"

He ripped a shirt from its hanger and grumbled something she didn't understand. She moved around his body, kissed his cheek and ignored the dark look he gave her.

"I'll go make you a good breakfast and that'll cheer you up."

"Doubt it. I know only one thing that could cheer me up." He grabbed her wrist before she could leave the room and pulled her to his chest.

Pushing away from him, she crossed her arms. "Last night wasn't enough?"

"I can never get enough of ya." He gave her a smile.

She was about to kiss him and then paused. "You still have to go."

"Fuck."

* * *

They arrived at the school building earlier and that was how Carol planned it. She wanted to have Daryl in her classroom before some of the other teachers came in. She knew that they would want to stop and talk with them both and that would cause Daryl to become more uncomfortable than he already was.

"So, this is where ya work, huh?" Daryl looked around at the brightly lit room. "I would get a fuckin' headache if I had to sit in here for long periods of time. There's so much on the walls."

Carol chuckled. "My students love their art projects." She grabbed his hand and tugged him to over to her desk. He eyed the neatly organized desk and gave her a wink. She blushed.

He flipped through a stack of graded papers that set on the corner. "I gotta tell ya. Ya keep your desk much nicer than Charlie."

"Not anymore." She took a seat and watched him. "We straightened it up for him, remember?"

He nodded. "I hope when he comes back, he just thinks that I wanted to organize his shit."

"Yeah." Her cheeks flamed again.

"So," he said and took a seat on the desktop. "How long do I gotta stay here?"

"Well," she didn't look at him as she searched for a pen in one of her drawers. "Today is a half day, so after lunch we send the kids home."

"That's good." Just then, his phone rang. Both of them jumped at the sudden sound and he quickly answered it. "Hello?"

 _"Hey, little brother."_  Merle sounded tired on the other end.

"Is there something wrong, Merle?"

_"Naw. I guess I was supposed to fuckin' call ya last night and ask if ya wanted to come over for supper later. Maggie's makin' a roast."_

"Let me ask Carol." He looked over at his girlfriend, who had been listening to the whole conversation. "Maggie wants to know if we wanted to go their place for supper, tonight."

"Sure!" She perked up. "I didn't feel like cooking tonight, anyways, and it'll be nice to talk with Maggie."

"Alright." He brought the phone back to his ear. "She said yes."

 _"Great. See ya around six. Now, I'm gonna get my ass back to sleep."_  He didn't even wait for Daryl to say goodbye and had already hung up. Daryl just shrugged and put the phone back in his pocket.

"That was weird." He mumbled.

"Miss Spencer?" A small girl's voice nearly had him toppling backwards off the desk. "Why is there a man sitting on your desk?"

Carol's face brightened at the little girl and stood up to stand next to Daryl. "Emily, this is Daryl." She nudged him. "Daryl say hi."

He glared at her briefly before looking at Emily. "Hey."

"You're Daryl!?" Emily nearly screamed and the smile she wore almost split her face in half. "I've been waiting forever to meet you!" She rushed forward and wrapped her tiny arms around his waist.

Daryl looked over at Carol for assistance, but she just watched the scene with a smile of her own.

"See, Daryl. I told you. They're going to love you."

He just hoped that none of the other students wanted to give him hugs.

The rest of the day went well. The students had been excited to finally meet him and they kept asking him questions. Mostly about his crossbow and how he gutted squirrels. With a mischievous grin sent to Carol, he proceeded to tell them, in the goriest of details, of how he skinned and gutted the animals he caught.

Many of the girls made grossed out faces, but their were a few, along with all the boys that listened with rapt attention and pleas for more. When the lunch bell rang, Carol had to shoo students out to the cafeteria. No one wanted to say goodbye to Daryl.

Once the last student, who happened to be Emily who had stayed behind to give him another hug, left the room, Carol shut the door and whirled on him.

"Some of the girls won't want to eat their lunches now." She placed her hands angrily on her hips.

He shrugged. "They kept askin' for more huntin' stories and I couldn't disappoint."

"I knew you were enjoying yourselves up there." She crossed the room and kissed him, the anger gone. "Thank you for coming with. Now, we can go home."

"Finally."

* * *

The past week had been one of the hardest for Andrea and it wasn't because it was finals week either. For five days, she had to act like everything was all right, that there wasn't a baby growing inside her. Every morning, she had to get up as quietly as she could and rush to the bathroom and throw up. Morning sickness.

It only lasted a little while and she managed to sneak back into bed with Milton, who never stirred. She was glad he was such a deep sleeper.

She needed to tell him about the baby, but every time she opened her mouth to say something, no words came out. So, she opted to keep it to herself for now and would tell him when it really started to show.

"So, I was thinking." Milton said after he set down another box in the room they would be calling their bedroom. "That once we get all settled in here, we can go and visit everyone back home."

She nodded and wiped the sweat from her brow. Wednesday had been her last final and Thursday they had packed up all their stuff in a moving van and moved to their new apartment closer to their schools. Now, it was Friday and all the boxes had been moved to the rooms they belonged in. All they had to do now was unpack them all and place all their items where they wanted them to be.

"I was going to give Carol a call later and tell her the same thing." She wished she could tell her best friend about the baby, but knew that was a burden she needed to keep to herself and couldn't risk having it come back to Milton.

He'd be devastated if he found out from someone else that wasn't her.

"Well, let's call it a day." He wiped his sweaty palms on his jeans. "I'll start supper and you can call her. Does grilled cheese sound good?"

She already had her phone out and dialing, but nodded at him. "Oh, can you make some tomato soup, too?" She called after him before placing the phone on her ear.

"Sure." Then he disappeared out the door and walked towards their new kitchen.

The phone rang a few times before Carol answered with a cheery, "Hello, Andrea."

She smiled when she heard her friend's voice. It had been too long. "Hey, Carol. I miss you."

Carol chuckled.  _"I miss you, too. When are you going to come down and visit us?"_

"That's why I'm calling, actually. Milton said that we can come down maybe sometime next weekend. Would that be alright?" She chewed her lip and sat on the bed in their room.

_"That would be perfect. I'll be off for the summer. Daryl still has to work, but he's usually off on the weekends."_

"Okay, we should do something that weekend, then? Maybe go to an amusement park or something?" She laid flat on the bed.

_"The county fair will be going on around that time. How about we go to that?"_

"Sounds perfect!" She smiled. "I'll let Milton know. I'm sure he'll agree. He loves the fair and hanging out with you guys will make it even better. Maybe we can have Maggie and Merle come with?"

 _"That would be great!"_ She could tell Carol was getting excited about the whole thing.  _"Speaking of them. Daryl and I are going to their house for dinner now, so I have no_ _go. Sorry_ _."_

"It's alright. It was nice talking to you and we'll see you soon!"

_"Great! It was nice talking to you, too. Bye."_

Then they both hung up. Andrea looked at the phone in her hand. Oh, how she wished she could have told her friend about the baby.

* * *

The dinner with Maggie and Merle had been pleasant. Daryl and Merle toned it down on the ribbing at each other and they had been able to enjoy a nice meal. The roast Maggie had made had been delicious and Carol had told her so.

"My mom use to make the best roast and potatoes in the county. I was just glad I was able to watch her enough times before she died to get it right."

Carol gave her a hug and moved to help bring dessert, a peach cobbler, out to the two Dixon men.

They had enjoyed the dessert on the porch and watched as the sun went down. Once they were finished Maggie had grabbed Carol's hand and told her husband that she was taking her on a walk. The older Dixon barely paused in his conversation with brother to give her a nod.

"You know," Carol said when they were a safe distance away from the porch. "Married life suits you, Maggie."

Maggie smiled. "It does, doesn't it?" She nudged the younger woman. "When are you and the younger Dixon gonna tie the knot?"

Carol blushed. "We haven't discussed it. I don't think Daryl is the marrying type. I'm happy with what we have now. It's almost like we're married."

"Not the marrying type." Maggie almost stopped in her tracks to give her a friend a look of disbelief. "I thought Merle wasn't the marrying type and look at me now. I've been married to the man for two months. I'm sure that Daryl is waiting for the perfect moment to propose."

"I don't know..."

"He will and when he does, I'm gong to tell you 'I told you, so.'"

Carol chuckled. "So, I heard you almost had a little Dixon growing inside of you." She was glad to change the subject. It wasn't that she didn't want to get married to Daryl, she did, but she didn't want to bring it up with him for fear of scaring him off. True, they had been together for five years but there was still times where she thought he would get tired of her and ran off.

* * *

"Show me the fuckin' ring, little brother." Merle waited until his wife and Carol had walked out of his sight before he demanded that of his brother.

"W-What?" Daryl nearly topped out of his chair. "What ring ya talkin' about?"

"The one in your pocket, dumbass. The one you're gonna give Carol."

With a sigh, Daryl tug in his pocket and pulled out the ring box. Merle snatched it from his hand and laughed.

"About time ya decided to propose!" He opened the box and admired the simple ring. The band was made of white gold and sapphires surrounded a single diamond. They reminded him of Carol's eyes and knew why his brother had picked it out. "She's gonna love this, Daryl. So, when are ya gonna pop the question? Tonight?"

"Hell no!" He exclaimed and snatched the box out of his brother's hand to place it safely back in his pocket.

"Then when?"

He shrugged.

"Why do ya have it in your pocket, then?"

Fuck. How many damn questions was he going to ask him? "I carry it with me all the time. Been waitin' for the perfect moment."

"Jesus, bro! If you're gonna wait for the moment then you're never gonna ask! Jus' take her out to a nice dinner and grow a pair. That's what I did with Maggie."

Daryl was silent. He had thought about doing that, but that's what everyone seemed to do and he wanted to make his proposal special. Carol was special to him and she deserved to be treated as much.

"I'll think about it." He grumbled.

"Well, ya better think faster." Merle slapped him on the back. "Cuz at the rate you're goin', the end of the world is gonna happen before ya propose."

 


	8. Chapter Eight

**Chapter 8**

Carol leaned heavily into Daryl's side as they walked into the house after their dinner with Merle and Maggie. It was late and it was clear Carol was exhausted. On the ride home, she barely could keep her eyes open.

"That was fun," she said with a giant yawn as she slowly began to undress for bed. "We should have them over sometime. Isn't that what married couples do?"

Married couples? Daryl froze with his back to her. What was that supposed to mean? They weren't married, he hadn't even proposed yet. Did she know he had the ring? Fuck, he thought he kept it in a good hiding spot.

He slipped on the shirt in his hands and turned to her. She was lying under the covers already with eyes that were barely opened. They were unfocused as she struggled to keep them open and looking at him.

"We're kinda married, aren't we, Daryl?" Her voice was slurred with sleep.

"Uh..." He didn't know what to say. They lived together, they slept together, and they did many other things together. Did that mean they were 'kinda married'? "I guess." He finally answered.

"Okay." With a smile, she finally succumbed to sleep. Daryl slowly climbed into the bed, careful not to wake her, and hoped that she would forget this conversation in the morning.

* * *

Tuesday morning, Daryl saw Carol off to her last day of school and settled in front of the TV with a bowl of cereal. He didn't have to be at the garage for a couple more hours. Leaning back in the couch and crossing his ankles on the coffee table, he turned the TV on. The local news station was on and he moved to turn it when the word Florida caught his eye. Carol's dad and step-mom were still in Florida.

 _"Now, we're going to switch it over to Tammy in Florida."_  The screen split in half. One side showed the handsome blonde anchor and the other side showed an auburn-haired woman who he assumed was Tammy.

 _"Thank you, John."_ Tammy smiled widely, her perfect white teeth on display.  _"Things are getting a little crazy down here, John."_

_"Where are you right now, Tammy? It looks like you are in front of a...hospital?"_

_"Yes, I am. Right now, I'm in front of Sarasota Memorial Hospital where there is twenty-three people being treated for some unknown disease. It seems to_ _similar_ _to the disease that broke out along the Keys, but what makes these people significant, is that they all took the vaccine that was supposed to prevent it."_

John frowned at the news.  _"Do you think the vaccine is getting_ _people_ _sick with this disease?"_

 _"It looks that way, John."_  The sound of an approaching ambulance could be heard in the background and the reporter switched the microphone to the other hand.  _"I asked one of the doctors here if they are concerned with the influx of patients, but they told me it was normal for some people to get sick when they get a vaccine. None of the patients are in_ _critical_ _condition and all are expected to make a full recovery."_

_"Thank you, Tammy."_

_"No problem, John."_

The anchor straightened up the papers in front of him and gave the camera a bright smile.  _"We will give you updates on what is happening in Florida later on, but right now we're switching to Phil with the weather."_

Daryl picked up the remote and turned off the TV with an uneasy feeling in his stomach. He knew the reporter hadn't said there wasn't any cause to worry, but he knew he should tell Carol to call her dad and tell him to come home.

Something was happening in Florida. Something bad.

* * *

The children were out for recess, their last recess of the year, and Carol sat in her desk chair with a relieved sigh. In a few hours, she would be home and the next three months would be all about relaxing. She loved her students, she really did, but the last week had been hectic and she was just as eager for the summer as they were. There would be no more discipline, no more teaching and no more grading papers.

Her eyes wondered to the desk in the corner, Shawn's desk. He still hadn't been back to school and she was worried. He had missed almost a week and a half of class. Maybe she would go and visit him again tomorrow, to see what was going on.

She was lost in her thoughts when someone knocked on the door. With a start, she stood up and went to open the door.

"Hey, Carol." It was Tracy Miller, the other third grade teacher. Her classroom was right across the hall from Carol's.

"Hey, Tracy. Is there something wrong?" There was something off with how the other teacher looked. She looked pale and there was a faint sheen of sweat on her forehead.

"Yeah, I'm not feeling very good, so I'm calling it a day." She shouldered the bag she was carrying. "I hate to leave my kids with a substitute for the rest of the day, and it being the last day,too, but I know I won't be able to last the next couple hours."

"You aren't looking too great, right now. I think its best you go home and relax."

Tracy gave her a weak smile. "That's what I plan on doing. I just came over to ask you a favor. If you hear my students going a little wild, could you maybe stick your head in and help my sub out?"

Carol nodded. "Of course!" She gently grabbed her elbow and led her to the door. "Now, go home and rest. You have the rest of the summer to enjoy and I would hate for you to have to spend the first day in bed."

She gave her a grateful smile. "Thank you, Carol. I hope you have a wonderful summer."

"You too." Carol watched her go, eyes narrowing in confusion and worry. That made three people, well that she knew of anyway, that were sick. Was there something going around?

* * *

"Hey, Jim." Daryl walked into the garage and spotted the other mechanic under the hood of a car.

"Yeah?" Jim, a tall skinny man with dark hair and beard, looked up from the engine.

"Ya seen Charlie around? Figure he'd be back by now." He hadn't been there yesterday, but Daryl wondered if he had just taken another day off.

"Nope. Haven't seen him since almost two weeks ago."

"Well, fuck." He muttered. "Thanks." He said louder so the other man could hear.

"No problem." Jim replied and went back to work. The car he was working on was the only one in the shop at the moment and Daryl knew that no more would come until later, if any came at all. It wasn't that they didn't get much business, in fact that got a lot since Charlie was known to be one of the best and most reasonable mechanics around, but the past couple days had seen a slow down in customers.

"Hey, Jim." He called again to the other man. "Call my phone if ya get another car. I'm gonna head up to Charlie's place and check on him."

The other mechanic didn't even look up from his work and answered in the affirmative. Daryl changed directions and walked back to the truck. The uneasiness that he had felt earlier had not left him and now felt like a ton of bricks in his gut.

Something told him that he was smart in bringing his crossbow along.

* * *

The grass surrounding Charlie's property was long. It hadn't been cut in a long time. The grip on the steering wheel tightened. Charlie was usually on that. He hated an overgrown yard.

His truck was still in the same spot and looked like it hadn't moved since the last time he'd been there. No one answered his knocks and the door was unlocked. The uneasiness was slowly heading toward fear. What if something happened to Charlie and he hadn't gotten here in time? Maybe he had a heart attack or something and hadn't been able to get to the phone. Daryl moved reluctantly through the house, afraid of what he might find.

He found nothing.

Where was he?

He moved to the gun cabinet he knew Charlie had in his bedroom and with the key (hidden under the mattress), he opened the cabinet and was relieved to find one gun messing. The 12-gauge. Charlie's favorite. That meant the older man was probably off hunting. He'd look for him and maybe get some of his own hunting in, too. It had been awhile since he had got himself a deer and recently he had been craving some of Carol's deer stew.

Few minutes later, he grabbed his crossbow from the truck, slung it over his shoulder and walked into the woods. He hadn't gone a hundred feet when he spotted something ahead of him lying next to a tree. Approaching it, he realized with dread, that it was Charlie's gun.

Daryl picked it up and scanned the area. There was no one in sight. Walking on, he kept himself alert. If there was any movement, he would catch it. Charlie was out here somewhere. If he had dropped his gun, he may have been running from someone or something.

Suddenly he found himself in a clearing, one he had never been in before. Ahead of him, about a couple hundred yards away he saw a figure kneeling over something. As he approached cautiously, he noticed that it was a human. A male human. On even closer inspection, he saw that the man was wearing a plaid shirt, one very familiar to him. It was Charlie's shirt.

Daryl smiled. He had finally found him and it looked like he caught himself a deer and set to gutting it. The questions niggling at his mind went ignored. He didn't want to think about how Charlie had killed the deer without his gun and if he had shot it, why had he left his gun in the middle of the woods? He kept telling himself those questions weren't important right now.

Charlie was fine.

"Hey, Charlie," he called out as he approached. "I think ya dropped something." He held up the 12-gauge in his hand.

The older man stopped working on the deer and his head seemed to tilt to the side, as if he was listening for something.

"Gotten deaf in your old age?" He joked and walked even closer. Once he got close enough, he reached out a hand to grab his friend's shoulder when the man suddenly whipped around with a growl.

Daryl stumbled away from him and dropped the gun to the ground. Charlie growled again and stood to his feet, stumbling as he did so. There was blood smeared all over his face, hands and clothing. He hadn't been gutting the deer. He had been  _eating_  it.

His teeth snapped together as he stumbled towards Daryl, arms reaching out as if he wanted to grab him and that was when he noticed it.

Charlie's eyes were a milky white.


	9. Chapter Nine

**Chapter 9**

"Charlie?" Daryl stumbled and fell, eyes wide with fear as his friend kept limping towards him. "This ain't funny."

Charlie didn't say anything, but snarled and gnashed his teeth as he came closer. His hands were outstretched, like he wanted to grab him and those eyes...There was something so inhuman about them. There was no life in them at all.

"Ya ain't fuckin' Charlie, are ya?" Daryl stood to his feet and slung his crossbow around. "This ain't supposed to happen. This  _can't_  happen." But it did. This wasn't Charlie anymore. Charlie was dead and this was just some _thing_.

"I don't wanna do this." He choked and felt tears brimming in his eyes. "Don't make me do this, Charlie. Ya was like a daddy to me. I can't..."

The older man, no,  _thing_ , lunged and Daryl fell under its weight. His crossbow was knocked from his hands and he was barely able to keep Charlie off him. With a viscous kick, he sent him backwards and he quickly scrambled for his crossbow and aimed. He let a bolt fly and it hit the thing just below his left shoulder, in its heart.

He should be dead now, but he kept moving towards as if he hadn't been shot. Quickly, Daryl reloaded and let another bolt fly. This time it struck him between the eyes and he crumpled to the ground. Was that it? Aim for the head?

Daryl cautiously approached the body and flipped it over to his back. It didn't move. Its lifeless eyes bore into his and blood seeped out of the hole in its head and shoulder. He couldn't look at the broken body of his friend anymore and fell to his knees and vomited into the grass.

Wiping his mouth, he shouted at the body in front of him. "Fuck, Charlie! What the hell happened to ya?!" He shoved the body angrily, pressed the palms of his hands into his eyes, and willed himself not to cry, but it was hard.

He had just killed the man who had been the closest thing to a father to him. The only person, besides Carol, who hadn't cared what his last name was and cared about the man he was. He had never judged him because of Buck and now he was dead.

Killed.

By him.

The dam behind his eyes burst and he let himself cry.

* * *

Carol came back to an empty house and Daryl's truck missing from the driveway. She figured that he was still at work and went to take a quick shower. Instead of slipping on her pajamas, she grabbed her favorite robe. A dark blue silk one that Daryl had gotten her for a Christmas one year. Walking into their bedroom, she grabbed the phone that sat on her side of the bed and decided she'd give her dad a call. It had been a few days since she had lost spoken to him.

Dialing his number, she waited on the other end for him to answer. No one did. She found that odd. He always answered his phone. Next, she tried Sharon's cell. Nothing. She shrugged and placed the phone back in its cradle and headed back to her room. Maybe they were out swimming or something.

Still in her robe, she laid down on the bed and waited for Daryl to come home.

* * *

"Milton, honey, come look at this!" Andrea called from their new living room. She had decided to take a break from unpacking and watch a little TV. The News caught her eye as she flipped channels and when she stopped on the channel, her eyes quickly scanned the headlines.

"What is it?" Milton joined her on the couch.

"Something's going on in Florida. Look." She pointed at the screen. "It seems like all those people that were in the admitted into the hospital are slowly dying. The first one died like three hours ago and six more since."

Milton adjusted his glasses and leaned closer. "That isn't good."

"No, it isn't. They're saying that that vaccine that they are giving people is doing more harm than good."

He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her closer. "I just hope that this disease doesn't spread up here. They need to find a cure and fast. I don't want anything happening to you."

 _Me too_ , she thought to herself and placed a hand on her still flat stomach.  _I don't want anything happening to the three of us._

* * *

It was dark when Daryl came home. His clothes were covered in blood, Charlie's blood, and his hands wouldn't stop shaking. His mind was numb and all he wanted to do was scrub himself clean.

After he had killed his friend, he had sat there for what felt like hours trying hard to stop the raking sobs that shuddered through his body. No matter how hard he had tried, the tears wouldn't stop. He had never killed a man before and the fact that he had to kill someone he cared so much about, devastated him. But he had to do it. That  _thing_  in control of Charlie's body would have killed him first.

Wiping fiercely at the tears on his cheeks, he stood up, walked back to Charlie's house, grabbed a shovel and dug a grave for him. Then he had dragged his body into it and buried him. That was it. There was no funeral, no grave marker and no words said. He had buried the only man who had ever treated him like a son and walked away.

"Daryl? Is that you?"

The sound of her voice soothed him. All he wanted to do was wrap himself around her and listen to her talk and tell him everything was going to be okay. That what he had done was okay.

"I'm in the bedroom."

He didn't say anything and soon found himself in the doorway of their room. She sat at the edge of the bed in nothing but her blue silk robe and gave him a warm smile. That smile faded, though, when she saw his clothes and the blood.

"Daryl?" She shot from the bed and ran to him. "What happened?" Her hands roamed his body, looking for any injuries.

"It ain't mine." His voice was hoarse from crying.

"Who-"

"Charlie's."

She gasped and a hand flew to her mouth.

"I-I went over to his house, to check on him, and I found him in the woods eatin' on a deer." He swallowed. "He heard me comin' and he turned to me. It wasn't him. His eyes were white and he had blood all over his face. He wanted to  _kill_  me, Carol."

She gasped again and wrapped her arms around his waist.

"I shot him in the heart. H-He kept comin' at me and then I shot him in the head, like a damn rabid dog." Tears once again threatened to spill over. "I buried him and I didn't say shit over his grave, Carol. I fuckin' walked away like the man didn't mean anythin' to me at all.

"I should have checked on him sooner, made him go to the fuckin' hospital. Maybe this wouldn't have happened to him, if I had."

"It's not your fault, Daryl. You didn't know this would happen." She looked up at him with a tear-stained face. "Charlie was stubborn. He wouldn't have gone, even if you threatened to knock him out and drag him there."

"I know." He buried his face in her hair. "I gotta tell Merle. He was like a daddy to both of us."

"Later."

"What?" He lifted his head and looked at her.

"Tell him later. Right now, we need to get you out of these clothes and clean you up." She gave him a watery smile. "I'll help."

She burned his clothes, at his request, made him sit in the bath while she scrubbed the blood from his skin and even picked the remnant of blood underneath his nails.

"You know I love you, right?" She said and looked him in the eye.

He gave her a curt nod. "I know."

She leaned over the edge of the tub and kissed him. "We're going to get through this. I promise."

Together they watched the bloody water flow down the drain.

* * *

Outside of Sarasota Memorial Hospital, Marc Spencer stood with his wife as he left a message on his daughter's phone.

"Hey Carol, honey. Sorry we missed your calls, but Sharon's mom is in the hospital and we were there visiting here. The doctors said it's nothing too serious, she was just running a high fever and she should be out by tomorrow morning. Love you and we'll see you on Friday. Don't forget to pick us up!" With a laugh, he hung up and pulled his wife closer.

"So, how about we go back to your parent's house and sit in the Jacuzzi? You really need to relax, dear."

Sharon nodded against his side. "I do. It was just that she got sick so suddenly. She was fine one minute and the next she's passed out in the kitchen."

He kissed her cheek. "She's going to be fine. I promise."

* * *

That night Daryl laid in Carol's arms with his head resting on her breast. When he woke up that morning, he hadn't thought things could get so bad in such a short time. There was some kind of disease going around that was most likely causing the deaths of many people and he had killed a man.

What was happening? What happened if there were more of those things? What would he do?

Protect Carol.

That would be his first and  _only_  priority. There was no way in hell he was going to let something bad happen to her. He'd kill hundreds of those things if he had too. As long as Carol would be safe.

Tomorrow he would go and gather up all of Charlie's guns and bring them back to the house. Carol knew how to shoot a gun, he had thought her, and would make sure she kept one with her at all times. While he did that, he would tell her to stock up on canned goods and other food items. Just in case.

People would think he was crazy, but what was new? He was going to protect Carol at all costs and if that meant getting prepared for the fucking zombie apocalypse, then so be it.


	10. Chapter Ten

**Chapter 10**

Buck lumbered back into the cell he shared with Ed and went straight to his bunk. Ed had retreated to their cell earlier and now laid in his own bunk staring at the ceiling with his arms behind his head.

"Jus' talked to one of the guards." Buck said. "Said some crazy shit has been goin' on to the south of us. People dyin' of some kind of disease, I guess."

"Huh." Ed grunted. He wasn't interested at all. All he wanted to do was get the hell out of this cell and kick Daryl Dixon's ass. A smug smile spread across his lips at the thought. Buck would even lead him right to the Dixon.

"He told me if we start feelin' sick we better get our asses to the infirmary." He continued. "Whatever's gonna on better not get in here, alls I got to say."

Ed wasn't paying attention. He was going over this revenge in his mind, which was what he did almost every night before he went to bed. Some may think he was crazy for holding such a grudge for five years, but it was because of that fuckin' redneck he was here now. If it wasn't for him, he'd be in the NFL right now making big money and having a different woman every night.

Hell, he wouldn't doubt that he could even had Carol. All he would have to do was show her how successful and rich he was and she would leave Daryl and hop right into his bed. His smile grew at the thought.

Carol would regret everything she had done in high school. She would regret not going out with him.

* * *

Carol woke up when the sun shone through their window. Daryl was still curled into her side and when she looked over at the clock, she saw that it was early. Too early. However, she couldn't sleep any longer. Her nights were plagued with nightmares. Charlie covered in blood, coming at Daryl. Daryl's look of fear when Charlie lunged at him. Daryl dying.

Nope. She couldn't watch that anymore and jerked herself awake. Luckily, she hadn't jostled Daryl and woken him up. He had a tough night and needed his rest. She wondered if his sleep was plagued with nightmares, as well.

Quietly, she maneuvered her body from Daryl's and slipped from bed. The phone on her night table was blinking and she grabbed it before leaving the room. Someone had left her a message and with relief, she found that it was her dad.

They were all right. Thank God. It was too earlier to call them back, so she set the phone down on the kitchen counter and set about making some coffee. Daryl would want some when he got up and he would want it black.

Taking her steaming cup, she walked to the living room and decided she would see if there was any more at what was going on in Florida. Hopefully things were settling down there. But what the hell was happening here? As much as she hated what happened to Charlie, she hoped that he was the only one.

She pressed the power button the remote and watched as the TV came to life. The channel was still on the news and it looked like it had just gotten off a commercial.

 _"Good morning, everyone."_  The blond anchor said with a bright smile.  _"If you're just joining us, we would like to show what is happening to our neighbors in the south. Tammy has been there for the past couple days, reporting on the_ _occurrences_ _that have been happening. Tammy."_

The screen split in half and on the side where Tammy was supposed to appear, it was just a bunch of fuzz.

_"Uh, Tammy?"_

The image cleared only slightly to show Tammy, with a look of fear in her eye, and a microphone in her hand. Carol couldn't see what was happening in the background, but she thought she could hear screams.

_"John!"_

_"Tammy, can you tell us what's going on?"_

The image didn't clear and the sound kept fading in and out.  _"Something horrible...Sarasota..._ _Hospital_ _. The dying aren't..._ _dead_ _. They've...eating... They're..._ _walking_ _dead!"_  Then with an abrupt scream, the screen went black.

Carol watched with wide eyes as the anchor, John, stood up from his seat and looked frantically around.

 _"Tammy?! What the hell is going on?"_  He pointed off screen.  _"Try and get her back on, dammit! What the fuck is going on at the hospital?"_

The screen cut off and she was being shown a commercial for car insurance. Her hands shook. Had they said something about Sarasota Hospital? Oh God, she shot to her feet and dropped her coffee on the ground. Dad and Sharon! They were at that same hospital!

Tears sprang to her eyes as she raced to the kitchen.  _Please be al_ _l right_ _,_ _please_ _be al_ _l right_ _._  She didn't even notice Daryl sitting at the kitchen table when she burst into the room and made a mad dash for her phone.

"Carol, what's wrong?" He saw the tears and was instantly on his feet to stand in front of her.

"My dad. There's something really wrong where they are. I think people are...eating other people."

His face darkened. "Ya mean, like what happened with Charlie?"

She nodded and placed the phone to her ear as it dialed.

"Fuck!" Daryl grabbed at his hair and paced the room. "What the hell is goin' on? I gotta fuckin' call Merle and tell him to get his ass over here. Somethin' tells me that shit is gonna happen here, too!"

Carol wasn't listening to him, she was focused on the ringing in her ear. "Come on, dad," she whispered. "Answer.  _Please._ "

* * *

Daryl left the room in a run and went to get his own phone. He was surprised to hear it ringing when he finally found it.

"Hello?" He answered.

_"What the fuck is goin' on, little brother? There's fuckin' people comin' up from the dead and eatin' other people!"_

"Ya been watchin' the news?"

_"Hell yeah, I am! It ain't just in Florida. It's startin' to spread to other states, even here."_

"Fuck, I knew it. Ya need to get your ass and Maggie's over here now. Grab whatever shit ya need and get over here. I gotta...I have somethin' to tell ya and I don't wanna say it over the phone."

_"When ya say get my shit what-"_

"Everythin'! Clothes, food, weapons! Somethin' is happenin' and I want us all to be stickin' together."

There was a pause on the other line.  _"Alright, bro. Give us fifteen minutes and we'll be there."_  With that, he hung up.

Daryl walked back to the kitchen to find Carol sitting on the floor, sobbing into her arms and legs. He was at her side in an instant.

"They're dead, Daryl!" She cried. "I just know it."

He wrapped his strong arms around her and pulled her closer. "Now, ya don't know that. I'm sure they're somewhere safe."

"No! I called both their phones and even Sharon's parent's house. Nothing. They were supposed to get her mom this morning at the same hospital where all this is going on." She looked at him with watery blue eyes. "There's people  _eating_  other people out there, Daryl. What's going on?"

"I don't know." He tightened his grip on her. "But whatever it is, I'm gonna keep ya safe. I promise."

* * *

Merle barreled into their house twenty minutes later, Maggie close behind. Both of them were breathing heavily and their eyes were wide.

"They're fuckin' here!" Merle nearly shouted. "Me and Maggie saw one on our way here. It was a woman from what we could tell."

Carol felt a weight of dread settle in her stomach. "Did you get a good look at her?"

Maggie spoke up. "Not really. She just had really long black hair and she was still in her pajamas. All she was doing was walking aimlessly around."

Tracy had long black hair. It was her most prized possession. All the little girls loved it and wanted to braid it all the time. Carol had even been envious of it.

No, she wouldn't believe that it was her until she saw for herself.

"Okay," Daryl stepped up. "Merle, me and you are gonna head over to Charlie's-"

"Good idea," Merle interrupted. "If anyone knows how to survive this shit, it'll be him. Let's go." He moved towards the door.

Daryl was quiet. Carol looked over at Maggie and shook her head. The older woman got the idea and reached for her husband's arm to stop him.

"What's wrong?" He immediately asked his wife.

"Charlie's dead." Daryl finally said.

"What?!" Merle turned to his brother. "When the hell did that happen?"

"Yesterday. I killed him."

"Why would-" He paused, suddenly understanding and clenched his fists. "Fuck, he was...one of them things?"

Daryl nodded.

"And he tried to...eat ya?"

Another nod.

"Shit." Merle ran a hand down his face. "That ol' man was supposed to outlive us all. Jesus fuckin' Christ," he roared. "What the hell is happenin'?" It was plain that all he wanted to do was kick something.

Maggie stood in front of him and placed a gentle hand on his cheek. "Merle, honey." Her voice was soft. "I'm sorry for your loss. I know how much he meant to you." She turned to Daryl. "To both of you."

"He was like a daddy." Merle mumbled.

The room grew silent as the two brothers mourned their loss together.

"Okay." Daryl was the first to snap out of it. "We gotta go now. Maggie, can ya help Carol gather up all the food ya can?"

Maggie nodded. "We have some in the truck, too."

"I'll help you unload." Carol stepped to her friend's side.

"Before ya go out there," Daryl spoke before disappearing from the room and coming back seconds later with something in his hands. "I want ya to have this on you." He shoved a handgun in her hands. "If one of those things comes at ya while you're out there, ya have to shoot it in the head. That's the only way to stop them, alright?"

She nodded. The last thing she wanted to do was shoot another human being, but if it meant it saved her and Maggie, she would do it.

"We'll be back as soon as we can and then we gotta sit down and discuss what's happenin'." Without another word, the Dixon brothers walked out of the house.

Maggie smiled. "Daryl's a real leader, ain't he?"

* * *

"So why are we goin' to Charlie's house? What's there?" Merle asked as Daryl sped down the road. He didn't pay attention to the speed limits and figured that the police had more to worry about than someone speeding on a back road.

"He's got guns. Seven or eight of them. We're gonna need them."

"Damn bro, you've really put some thought into this." Merle gripped his seat as his brother took a sharp turn.

"Hell yeah. I gotta protect Carol and Charlie ain't gonna be usin' them. I'm sure he wouldn't mind if we took them."

"He'd want us to take them to stay safe." Merle chuckled. "Ain't we lucky he liked his guns?"

Daryl braked hard in Charlie's driveway, grabbed his crossbow and hopped out of the truck. "We gotta make this quick!" He called after Merle. "I don't like leavin' Carol and Maggie by themselves."

"Neither do I. Jus' tell me where they are and let's grab 'em."

"They're in his room." As he said it, Daryl led them there. "There's one under his mattress." He pointed out to Merle as he went for the cabinet. He grabbed the six rifles there and turned to Merle who had one in his hand.

"There any more?" He asked.

Daryl nodded towards the closest. "Check there."

Merle did and sure enough came out with another gun in his hand.

"I think that's all."

"Ammo?"

"Shit. Yeah, in the cabinet. Grab everythin'."

The two Dixon's cleaned their old friend's house of every weapon he had. There was eight rifles and two handguns, plus ammo for all of them as well.

"I think we're gonna be set, baby bro. We got everythin' we need to keep our women safe."

Daryl agreed and hopped back into his truck. As he pulled out of the driveway, he gave a silent thank you to his deceased friend.

* * *

Maggie and Carol had all their can goods stacked on the kitchen counter and table. With smiles, they were relieved to see that they had enough to last awhile.

"I think soon we're gonna be losing electricity and stuff, so we should cook all the perishables we have and save this stuff for later." Maggie suggested.

"Alright." Carol moved to the refrigerator. "Let's start with some leftovers. I have spaghetti and some fried chicken."

"Sounds good. Let's heat it up and have it ready for when our boys come home. They'll probably be starving."

Ten minutes later, Merle and Daryl walked through the door, arms weighted with guns and ammo. They decided to take them to the living room and Maggie and Carol followed behind them with food in their hands.

"That's a lot of weapons." Maggie handed a bowl to Merle and took a seat next to him.

"And ya each are gonna get one." Daryl spoke from his spot on the couch. Carol sat by him and nodded.

"So, do we know what's exactly going on?" Maggie asked.

Merle spoke up, after swallowing a mouthful of noodles and sauce. "The fuckin' zombie apocalypse."


	11. Chapter Eleven

**Chapter 11**

**~One Week Later~**

Things had gotten bad. Real bad. The disease had spread through out the United States like wildfire. No one was safe and as far as any could tell, no one was immune.

Atlanta had been one of the worst, it being a large city. There were even talks about the possibility of it being bombed in hopes to kill of most of the undead. They had already heard about the horrors going on in the hospitals. Men, women and children were being put down like dogs, even if they hadn't already turned. Numerous people had packed up their stuff and fled their homes in hopes of finding safety in a refugee camp.

"We need to leave, Milton. Now." Andrea turned from the window, where she had just watched a group of army men shoot down a group of 'walkers'. That was what they were calling them, now, instead of zombies.

"Do you have everything?" He walked into the living room, hair askew and dark circles under his eyes. The past week had not been kind. Both of them had been too afraid to sleep and never left their apartment. They knew everyone was leaving, but Andrea had thought it would be best if they waited a little bit before they fled. The roads were no doubt jammed and the last thing she wanted was to be was stuck in a vehicle while they were people out there eating other people.

"We packed it all up last night, remember?" Her gaze had returned out the window and she winced when a fleeing woman was attacked by a group of three walkers. No one stopped to help her; no one even glanced her way as she screamed.

Her hand went unconsciously to her stomach. Why kind of world was she going to bring this baby into? A world where no one cared about anyone else, except themselves. Would their baby even last in this world?

"Right." Milton ran a hand through his hair and fixed his glasses. "Well, then are you ready to go?"

"Yeah." However, she didn't make any move to get up. What was the point? Who knew if they would even survive the run to the car, let alone the trip out of the city?

"Are you all right?" Suddenly he was there, kneeling at her side and placed a hand over the one on her stomach. "Are you feeling...ill?"

She shook her head and quickly removed her hand. The last thing Milton needed to worry about was a baby. She'd keep that burden to herself until they found some place safe. That way if she were killed, he would only think to mourn her and not their baby, too. It would make it...easier for him.

* * *

Blaring sirens, flashing red lights and the sounds of gunshots woke Ed up from his sleep. Buck was already up and watching as guards ran past their cell. The doors had swung open and prisoners had even begun to follow the guards.

"Them things are in here now." Buck turned to him, his tone grim. "I fuckin' knew it would happen. That infirmary was fuckin' full of them sick bastards."

"What things?" Ed hopped from his bunk to the ground and stood by his cellmate.

"Have ya been fuckin' watchin' the news, boy?" The older man turned on him. "Jesus Christ. Good thing ya is with me, otherwise one of them things would have already taken a chuck outta ya."

"The hell you talking about?" He was getting angry, now. What the fuck was the old man talking about?

"Walkers! Zombies! Whatever the hell ya wanna call them." He shoved him hard. "Now, get what little shit ya have and let's get outta here. They's probably got the gates open."

Ed didn't bother to grab anything, because Buck was already out of the cell and running in the opposite direction of the guards.

"Shouldn't we be going where they are? They have guns."

"Hell no, boy!" Buck yelled over his shoulder. "They're going  _towards_  them things. We're gettin' away from them and gettin' outta here."

Gunshots echoed through the hallways and both of them winced with the sound. Other inmates started following Buck and Ed, trusting the two to be going in the right direction.

"We're gonna need guns." Buck said to him and the next second he had grabbed an armed guard that was about to run past them. With one punch, the man was slumped to the ground in unconsciousness and Buck held up the gun in triumph.

The other prisoners had seen what the older man had done and went quickly to follow his lead. Not once did any of them think about the fates of the guards they had left unconscious in the hallways. All they cared about now was their own survival and nothing was going to get in their way.

* * *

Daryl sat atop the roof of his truck and scanned the area around him. It was his and Carol's shift on watch. Even though they were safe within the house, they knew that it would be a good idea to dispatch any of the walkers that got near.

Carol's perch was at the back of the house and his was in the front. More walkers showed up in the front of the house and he knew she was safer where she was. It made him nervous, though, to be this far from her. He knew if one of them things snuck up on her, he'd be too late to save her.

Standing up on the roof of his truck, he peered over the roof of their house and saw her sitting there, perched on Merle's truck. He was glad that their house was only one story and could easily look over the roof and see her.

"Carol?" He called and she turned to face him. "Everythin' all right over there?"

She gave him a smile and a thumb's up.

"The sun's comin' up, so we can head in if ya want."

She nodded. "Okay." She swung the rifle that was strapped to her shoulder, to her back and climbed off the truck to head inside. Daryl met her in the kitchen.

They only had watches during the night, since they could easily tell if there were any walkers coming during the day and it allowed each couple to sleep in a bed, since they only had one mattress. Merle and Maggie were on it now.

"Do ya want me to get Maggie and have her help with breakfast?" He leaned against the counter and watched as she grabbed a skillet from the drainer near the sink and placed it on the stove.

Thank God for gas stoves.

"No, I've got it." She answered.

"Ya sure?"

She turned and gave him a tired smile. "Yes, I'm sure, Daryl. All I'm doing is heating up water for some coffee, since I figured we could have some canned fruit for breakfast."

Daryl could tell she was getting a little annoyed at his hovering, but the other day she had killed her first walker. It had been someone she knew, he could tell by the way her face had gone from shocked to anguished, before she stabbed the woman in the eye.

After the kill, she had pocketed her knife, walked right back into the house and headed straight to the bathroom to clean up with the bucket of water they kept in their for such occasions. Daryl had followed her, but stopped when she closed the door. From where he stood, he could hear her sobs, but he couldn't go in after her. She had locked the door.

Now, he stayed near here in case she had another break down and this time he'd be there to comfort her.

* * *

Milton and Andrea stood by the door that would lead them outside to their car. At the moment, the street was quiet. Almost too quiet. There wasn't a thing in sight; human or undead. It almost seemed like the calm before the storm.

Milton held the keys in his shaking hands and looked at her. "Are you ready to make a run for it?"

She nodded and gave him a weak smile. It was meant to reassure him, but she knew it hadn't done its purpose.

Suddenly he smashed his lips to hers and she returned the kiss just as passionately. God, she hoped that this wasn't going to be their last kiss.

Milton pulled back, slightly out of breath. "You know I love you, right? I know...that I'm not that strong, but I want you to know that I will fight for you. I'm going to protect you. Nothing is going to happen to you, I promise."

Tears sprang to her eyes. "I love you, too, Milton. And," she grabbed his hand. "We can protect each other. Nothing can get to use if we stay together."

With a shaky smile, he squeezed her hand. "Okay, on the count of three we'll make a run for it."

"I'm ready." One hand was braced on the door.

"One, two..." He gave her one last look. "Three!" And they ran.

* * *

"The hell we supposed to do now?" Asked on of the prisoners that had followed Buck and Ed to their freedom. Most of them were covered in blood from having to shoot at a few inmates-turned-walkers that had rounded the corner on them.

"Well, I reckon we can all band together and shit." Buck said and forced himself in the middle of the group. He took a quick look at all the orange jump suited men. "There's seven of us. I saw that's some pretty good numbers."

"Yeah, but what the hell do we do now?" A tall Mexican man stepped forward. His long black hair was pulled back into a ponytail. A few strands had escaped it and now stuck to his sweaty face.

"What's your name, boy?"

"Tomas."

"Well, Tomas, how's about ya shut the fuck up for a second and let me think!" Buck roared and everyone flinched except for the man in front of him.

A small black man stepped next to Tomas. "So, are you making yourself the leader or something?"

Buck raised his gun and aimed it at the man. "Is there anyone else who's voluunteerin'?" No one said anything. "Good. I guess that makes me the leader. Now, all you fuckers had better listen up. The first thing we need is shelter. After we find that, then we can find food and other shit. Does any one have any objections?"

Once again, no one said anything.

"Good." Then he turned on Tomas. "And you. Ya had better wipe that ugly glare off your face before I blow it clean off your skull. I can already tell ya are gonna be a problem and I'm gonna let ya know that I won't hesitate to put a bullet in your brain." His eyes raked the whole group. "That goes for all of ya."

Everyone, even Ed, nodded back with eyes wide in fear. It was clear that Buck Dixon was a force to be reckoned with and no one doubted what he said. He wouldn't hesitate to kill anyone who got in his way.

* * *

Daryl nearly spat out his mouthful of peaches when Merle came up behind him and slapped him hard on the back as a way of a good morning. He took the chair across from his brother, told Carol thanks when she handed him his breakfast and dug in.

"Did ya see anythin' out there?" He asked, a drop of juice slid down his chin and he quickly wiped it away with the back of his hand.

"Nope, nothin'." Daryl answered.

"It's odd that we haven't seen anythin' for a couple days." He slurped some of the juice from the can. "I got an uneasy feelin' about it."

"Me too."

"I say we keep a sharp eye on all them windows and make sure our women don't leave the house."

Daryl agreed and glanced over at Carol, who was chatting with Maggie. A smile was on her face, but her eyes were sad. She looked so tired, as well, and he knew she didn't sleep well at night.

Nightmares.

"I'm gonna tell Maggie to start packin' up all the food stuffs jus' in case we gotta get outta here quick." Merle stood up. "Why don't ya and Carol get some rest? We'll wake ya if anythin' happens."

"Alright." He stood up, too and walked to Carol's side. Maggie had gone to Merle and together they started putting away the cans of food. "Let's get some rest."

She nodded and followed him wordlessly to their bedroom. They didn't even bother changing clothes and slipped under the blankets in the clothes they had on now. Their shoes rested right next to the bed and were easily accessible.

Carol lay on her side, facing away from him. Something was wrong, he could tell. He sidled about to her back and wrapped an arm around her waist.

"What's the matter, darlin'?" He murmured into her hair.

"Nothing." She sniffed. "I'm just tired."

"Like hell it's nothin'." He propped himself up on his elbow and forced her to turn to her back and look at him. "Ya can tell me, Carol."

Her eyes shone with unshed tears and her fingers clenched the blanket.

"My dad is dead, Daryl." She finally sobbed. "He's dead. My friends are dead and my students. Every time you and Merle step out that door, I'm afraid you'll be killed. You're the only thing I have left in this world, now and I couldn't stand it if you were gone."

"Shh." He gently cupped her cheek. "Nothin' is gonna happen to me. Promise."

She looked away from him, tears now falling down her cheeks. "You know you can't promise something like that."

"You're right, but I'm gonna try my fuckin' hardest to make sure nothin' happens to me or you." He tilted her face back to look at him. "But ya gotta promise me somethin'."

"What?"

"If somethin' does happen to me, ya have to promise me that you won't do somethin' stupid like kill yourself. Alright?"

She nodded. "I promise."

"You're a strong woman, Carol." He smiled. "And if anyone can beat this world it'll be you."

"And you, too, Daryl Dixon." She wrapped her arms around his neck but didn't pull him closer. "You have to promise me that you won't kill yourself if anything happens to me, too."

"Nothin' is gonna happ-"

"Shh." She pressed a finger to his lips. "Promise me."

"Promise."

"Good." She smiled and pulled him down for a kiss. "Now, let's get some sleep."

"Or." He kissed her again. "We can keep doin' this. We haven't been together since this shit started." He crawled on top of her, arms resting on his forearms and forehead pressed to hers.

"Daryl!" She half-heartedly tried to push him off her. "Merle and Maggie have to sleep on this bed, too!"

"And I bet they've done it on here already." He began kissing her neck.

"Oh, gross! And they didn't even change the sheets."

"So?" His lips moved to her ear and nibbled on her earlobe.

"Daryl-"

A shout from the living room had both of them scrambling of the bed.

"Shit, little brother. Ya better get your ass out here!" Merle's yell had them running, nearly tripping over themselves as they slipped on their shoes.

Daryl grabbed his crossbow from the doorway and joined his brother by the window looking out into the backyard and the open field beyond it.

"We got a problem." Merle pointed at something in the distance.

Daryl pressed his forehead against the glass and cursed. "Fuck!" There were dozens of them stumbling towards the house. There was too many for the four of them to deal with. They would tear down the house with that number.

"Maggie, Carol!" Merle shouted. "Grab all the clothes and shit. Me and Daryl'll get the food. Put it all in the trucks and we're gettin' the fuck outta here!"

Carol's eyes were wide with panic. They were going to leave the safety of their home? Where were they going to go?

"Carol." Maggie tugged at her arm. "Come on, we have to go." With that, she snapped out of her daze and rushed to help the older girl.

Few minutes later they were all packed and peeling out of the driveway, just as the first walker made it to the house. How many people in that herd had she known? Had any of them been fellow teachers, students?

Tears pricked her eyes as she watched the house she had shared with Daryl disappear. What were they going to do now?

A hand gripped hers and squeezed. She turned to look at Daryl.

"We're gonna be fine, Carol. As long as we're together, we'll be fine."

And she believed him.

 


	12. Chapter Twelve

**Chapter 12**

They had been on the run for days. Neither brother had wanted to stay in one place for long, since they had only stayed in small canvas tents and sometimes their trucks.

"What we need to find is a house or somethin' that's secluded or surrounded by a fence or some shit like that." Merle pulled Daryl aside to say.

Daryl agreed. "Do you have any place in mind?"

"Maggie said somethin' about her dad's farm. I can't believe we didn't fuckin' think of it before. They have plenty of room and lots of land."

"Do ya think that," he lowered his voice in case Maggie or Carol heard them. "That they are still alive there?"

Merle shrugged. "I don't know, but it's worth a try, right? 'Sides, I think it would be good for my girl to be with her family."

Daryl looked over at his woman. Being on the run was getting hard on her, both her and Maggie and they weren't use to it. The sleepless nights, endless running and the rationed food. Both of the Dixons hunted whenever they could, but when they couldn't find any game they had to dig into their rations of food. It was slowly depleting.

"How far are we?" He wanted to get there as soon as possible.

"I wish I had thought of this sooner, cuz now we're at least a two hour drive from there and that's on clear roads."

An hour-long trip could take up to several hours because of the many abandoned cars they had to maneuver around on the highway. They had managed to salvage supplies from some of the vehicles but most of them had become a hindrance and not to mention usually filled with walkers.

"Alright, let's tell them and we can leave in the mornin'." Daryl adjusted the crossbow on his back and walked over to Carol and Merle walked to Maggie.

"Maggie, girl, I think we're gonna head to your daddy's farm. That a'right?" Merle asked his wife.

"Of course!" She exclaimed with a smile. "I've been wondering how they are doing. They're alive. I know it. Our farm was so excluded from everything, I doubt anyone, or anything, have made there way up there."

"That's wonderful." Carol stepped up beside her. "It would be nice to be in a house again...with real beds." She looked over at Daryl and he gave her a small smile.

"A'right, it's settled. We'll be leaving in the mornin', so how about we set up the tent and head to bed. Me and Maggie will take first watch."

They all agreed and then went their separate ways in setting up camp.

* * *

They had been living out of their car for a week now, but at least they were a safe distance away from Atlanta and the number of walkers they had seen had started to decrease.

Andrea laid as comfortable as she could in the back seat of their car as Milton drove. It would be dark soon and then he would stop so they both could get a good nights rest. Lately, she had started feeling more tired than normal and often slept in the back while her boyfriend drove.

Her hand moved idly over the small bump on her stomach. It was becoming a reality now. There was a baby growing inside of her. She figured that she was almost three months along. Soon, it would probably start to be noticeable through her shirts.

The car suddenly sputtered to a stop and Milton cursed. He rarely cursed, so she knew that it was something serious. She got up and leaned her body in the space between the two front seats.

"What's wrong?"

"We ran out of gas." He raked his hand through his hair and looked back at her.

"What are we going to do now?" Panic began to set in. They should have known this would happen eventually, they had been driving for a week and not once stopped to siphon gas. Either one hadn't really known how to do it.

"I don't know." His forehead went to the steering wheel. "We can't go on foot. We don't have any weapons or anything." His back tensed. "How am I supposed to protect you now?"

She ran a soothing hand down his back and some of the tension went away. "We'll be fine. Let's just rest for now and in the morning we'll figure out what to do, okay?"

"Yeah." He looked up at her and gave her a smile. Then he opened his door and climbed into the back with her. Reaching over, he gathered her in his arms and pulled her close.

She made sure his hands didn't go anywhere near her abdomen.

* * *

"Axel and Oscar are gone, Buck." Ed walked up the large man, a rifle clenched in his hand as he surveyed the camp.

There were only five of them now.

"They left right after we dealt with that other survivor group." Ed continued. "I don't think what we did sat well with them."

Buck turned to him, finally. "Well, fuck 'em, then. Ya gotta do shit like that to survive. They weren't gonna share them supplies with us, so we had no choice but to kill 'em." He looked indifferent as he spoke about the six men and women they had just murdered the day before. " 'Sides, them two ain't gonna last long out there by themselves."

"You're right." The younger man agreed. "Tomas wants to go out and kill them for deserting. What do you think?"

"Waste of ammo and time. Tomas is a fuckin' idiot."

They both looked over to the Mexican man, who was in a heated conversation with the skinny black man named Andrew. Big Tiny, even though he was nowhere near tiny, sat a few feet away dozing off. The large man had done what he needed too when they had walked up on the small camp of survivors, but hadn't looked happy about it. Axel and Oscar had only gathered the supplies as the rest of the group shot down the survivors.

Buck had thought about killing them as well, right then. They were clearly weak and unsuited for this world. They were a waste of his time and a waste of precious supplies. They should consider themselves lucky they had decided to desert them.

"So, what's our plan now?" Ed sat down next to Buck on a nearby log that was close to the fire. He started to consider himself second in command of their little group.

"Fort Benning, I s'pose. Heard that the army was there protectin' people and shit, but until we get there we're gonna do what we've been doin'."

Ed nodded. "Sounds good. Do you think we should expand our numbers? Maybe have a few more people come along with us."

Buck thought a moment. "We could use a few women, if ya know what I mean. I'll have to think about it the next time we come across a group."

"Alright." He stood up. "I'm gonna tell Andrew to get his ass on watch and I'm going to go to bed."

Buck didn't say anything as he walked away.

Later that night, Ed laid awake in his own tent. He was in his thoughts, much like he always was before he fell asleep. Tonight, his thoughts were about the younger Dixon. He was out there somewhere, he knew it and when he found them, he would kill him. Now, that the world had ended he knew he would never be held accountable for it.

The thought made him smile and he drifted off to sleep, happy.

* * *

"Well, fuck!"

Daryl slammed on the brakes, almost causing Carol to slam into the dashboard, when they drove up to a large snarl of cars and other vehicles. There was no way in hell they were going to go through this. With a huff, he climbed out of the truck, Carol not far behind, and met with his brother and Maggie between the two vehicles.

"Looks, like we got a lot of work to do, little brother."

He grumbled at the thought. All he wanted to do was get to the Greene farm and not have to deal with the fucking highway clean up.

"And while you guys move the cars, Maggie and I can search the other vehicles for things we might need." Carol spoke up and Maggie nodded beside her.

"Sure."

"Fuck no!"

Merle and Daryl said at the same time. Daryl whirled on his brother. "It ain't safe to have them going off by themselves!"

"Well, it ain't safe stayin' with us, neither. They wanna help then let 'em. Jesus."

"We'll be fine, Daryl." Carol placed a hand on his arm. "We have guns and we both know how to use them."

"I don't want ya out of my sight." He argued.

"I'm a big girl, I'll be fine."

"Fine," he said reluctantly. "But at any sign of trouble ya get your ass back here, ya hear?"

She saluted him, a teasing grin on her face. "Yes, sir!"

"Smart ass," he grumbled and leaned down to kiss her. It had been awhile since he had kissed her and it felt good. Wrapping his arms around her, he pulled her close and deepened the kiss.

Merle wolf whistled and Daryl promptly flicked him off.

* * *

Someone was banging on their car window. Andrea opened her eyes, saw a large black man peering inside their car and screamed.

Milton was up in an instant.

The man turned from the window and called over his shoulder. "Hey, Axel. These two are alive!"

"Stay in here." Milton ordered and scrambled out of the car. She tried to grab him back in, but he had moved to fast. She had no choice but to watch the exchange from the safety of their vehicle.

"W-Who are you?" Milton asked and stood to his full height, which was only to the big man's shoulder.

Another man joined him then, he had long strawberry blonde hair and a thin handlebar moustache. He was much smaller than his partner, around Milton's own height.

"We don't want to cause any harm." The black man raised his hands up. "My name's Oscar and this is Axel. We're just looking for other survivors."

Milton narrowed his eyes. "Why?"

"To warn them." The shorter man piped up. "There's a group out there that been killin' others for their supplies. We was apart of them for awhile, but when they started killin' we left."

"Is there room for two more in your car?" Oscar asked. "I know we just met, but we need to be putting more space between us and that other group."

Andrea, sensing that the two men meant them no ill will, climbed out of the car and stood by Milton.

"We ran out of gas," Milton said and pushed up his glasses. "I'm Milton, by the way, and this is my girlfriend, Andrea."

They nodded their hellos.

"Looks like we're on foot, then. Would you like to come with? We have guns, not much ammo, though, but we still have weapons."

Milton looked down at Andrea, who nodded her head. For some reason, she knew they could trust these men and if they had guns, she knew they could protect them.

"Alright." Milton agreed. "We have some food we can share with you, if you like."

They looked relieved.

"Thank you," Axel said. "We haven't eaten since yesterday morning."

"It isn't much." Andrea moved around to the trunk and popped it open. "But it's food." She handed each man two granola's bars each and grabbed some for her and Milton.

"We can eat as we walk. If that other group catches up with us...we're all dead."

The couple nodded and grabbed their packs of clothes, while Axel and Oscar each took a pack of food. She gave their car one last sad smile and Andrea followed her boyfriend and the two men they had just met.

* * *

Carol and Maggie had split up. It was something they had both agreed on. They would be able to cover more ground and, hopefully, gather more supplies that were useful in a shorter period. She had shoved her handgun in her pocket and held her knife in her mouth as she rifled through the trunk of a SUV.

Opening up a suitcase, she smiled when she found a pretty, red shirt lying on top. She picked it up and held it up to her. Perfect.

She was about to call over to Maggie, who was a few cars down, to tell her to come over and pick out some clothes, when she heard the older girl scream. A second later, a rotting, smelly body tackled her to the ground and everything went black.

* * *

A scream.

Daryl flew out of the car he was in and had his crossbow ready. That scream hadn't sounded like Carol. It had to be-

"That's fuckin' Maggie!" Merle shouted and he was off, Daryl not far behind. He knew they shouldn't have let them go on their own.

They hadn't gone far when Maggie ran up to them, tears dripping down her face.

Where the hell was Carol?

"Shit!" Merle cursed. Behind Maggie there was dozens, maybe even hundreds of walkers heading straight for them.

"Where's Carol?" Daryl shouted.

Maggie looked at him and saw the tears hadn't stopped. "I saw her go down. One of..." A sob escaped her mouth. "One of them tackled her and..."

_NO!_

"I wanted to help her, but one of them grabbed my arm and I had to run. I'm so sorry, Daryl."

_NO!_

He shot off towards the herd, maybe he could save her. Maybe she wasn't bit. Maybe...

He felt a strong hand grab his arm and pulled.

"The hell ya doin', baby bro? Are ya tryin' to get killed?"

"Fuckin' let me go!" He pushed at the arm that felt like steel as it wrapped around his waist. "I have to get her. I have to save her."

"She's gone."

"No!" He yelled. "No, she ain't! Now, let me go!"

"I-I can't." Merle's grip tightened. "I can't let ya go into that. They'd rip ya to pieces in seconds. That's not how Carol would want ya to go."

"Well, that's how she's gonna go if I don't get to her." Tears pricked his eyes and he watched as the herd drew nearer. Deep down he knew that there was no way she could have survived all those walkers, not if one had tackled her to the ground. They would have been on her in seconds.

"Carol..." He sobbed and slumped in his brother's arms.

"Come on, Daryl." Merle tugged at him. "We have to go now before they get us."

Daryl didn't want to move. He wanted those things to get him. He'd be with Carol if they did, but he had promised her. Promised that he wouldn't take his life.

But then again, he had promised that he would protect her. What good had that fucking promise been?

Finally, with one last look at the herd, that fucking herd, Daryl ran after his brother. They all climbed into Merle's truck and drove away. Walkers had grabbed at the truck, but were soon left in the dust when the older Dixon floored it.

Maggie sobbed into her husband's side.

Daryl sat on the other side of her, eyes focused on the side mirror and watched, as the walkers grew smaller. Silent tears coursed down his cheeks.

Carol was gone.

* * *

Carol opened her eyes and all she saw was white. Tears pricked her eyes. She was in Heaven, she just knew it.

 _Daryl..._  She'd never see him again.

Suddenly a face appeared in front of her. A pale face with blood smeared across it. She screamed and tried to scramble away. This wasn't Heaven if those things were here. The walker lunged for her, but she moved out of it's way.

Her back slammed into something hard and she looked to see that it was a tree. Where was she? Glancing down at her clothes, she saw they were covered in blood...and other things. She shuddered at the smell. Had she been bitten? She didn't feel any pain. Was that part of the disease? No pain?

The walker appeared in front of her again, but she was too slow. She screamed as one hand grabbed at her arm, while the other...covered her mouth?

Now, it was speaking.

"Carol, honey, shh!" The grip tightened. "If you don't stop screaming, there's going to be more of those things coming at us and I barely got you out of there the first time."

That voice. It sounded so familiar.

No! It couldn't be! Then, that would definitely mean that she was in Heaven. She studied the walker(man?) in front of her and suddenly she knew who it was.

"Dad?"


	13. Chapter Thirteen

**Chapter 13**

The Dixon brothers and Maggie set up camp several hours later. The unexpected herd had caused to them to go out of their way by several miles. Once they had deemed it safe, they unload their one truck, set up the two tents and started a fire.

Merle had borrowed Daryl's crossbow and went off hunting for something for supper. The younger brother hadn't even acknowledged the fact that his older brother had slung his weapon over his head. All he focused on was the fire crackling in front of him. He hadn't said one word since they had escaped the highway.

Carol was dead.

Gone.

He was never going to see her again.

The thought caused a sudden sob to escape his throat and he sensed Maggie looking at him from her spot on watch on top of the truck. He ignored her. He knew she was upset over the loss of her good friend, but he really didn't feel like talking about it. Not with anyone. Not even his own brother, who had tried to pull him to the side to do so.

Daryl shrugged off the comforting hand and stomped away to his present spot by the fire. He wasn't going to talk to anyone. They had left her.  _He_  had left her. What if she had screamed for him to save her? What if she had been alive and watched as they drove away?

God, he just wanted to kill something. Anything.

That was when he finally noticed his crossbow was gone. Fucking Merle must have taken it with him. It made sense, he guessed. Didn't want to go out hunting with a gun.

"Daryl?" Maggie called to him. "Do you want anything to drink? I have some water over here, if you want one."

He shook his head and didn't even look back at her. He pulled his knees up to his chest and placed his forehead on them. Tears shimmered in his eyes, but they didn't fall. He had cried for Carol in the truck as they drove off and he'd probably cry for her later, but he wouldn't cry now. The last thing he needed is for Maggie to ask him if he was all right.

He wasn't and never would be as long as Carol was dead.

* * *

"I can't believe I'm not dead." Carol whispered as she walked alongside her dad, who was still covered in gore.

"Thank God, you're not." Marc went to wrap an arm around her, but remembered he was covered in Walker guts. "Sharon and I were so worried for you and Daryl when everything started happening."

"Where is Sharon, anyway?"

"A little further ahead." He pointed. "I decided to look for some supplies because we were running low. I am so glad I did. I wouldn't have seen you, then."

"Did you see my friend, Maggie, too?"

"No." He shook his head. "All I saw was you and that herd of walkers. I knew I had to get you out of there as soon as possible. I didn't mean to knock you out."

"I could have killed you." She said. "If you hadn't knocked me out, I would have thought you were a walker and I would have probably shot you. Why are you covered in all that?" She gestured to all the guts and grimaced.

"The walkers don't bother us if we smell like them," he said. "We found out early on when we were traveling with some young black woman with a sword. She sliced a walker and its guts went all over her. The other walkers ignored her after that and went after me and Sharon."

"Is she still with you?" Carol carefully stepped over a fallen branch and looked over at her dad.

"No," he said, sadly. "We got separated by a herd a week ago. I just hope she's all right. She saved our lives as we got out of Florida and we still owe her."

Carol wanted to meet this woman, now that she knew of what she had done for her family. Maybe one day they would meet.

"So, is Daryl still...?" He trailed off, but she knew what he had been asking.

She nodded. "He was with me on the highway." She gasped. "He probably thinks I'm dead now."

"We can't go back. He'll be long gone by now. That herd was large and he would have had no choice."

"I have to see him again." Tears sprang to her eyes. "I have to let him know that I'm still alive."

"We'll look for him, but...I can't guarantee that we'll find him."

That was when she finally remembered. "The Greene farm!" She exclaimed with a smile. "They'll be going to the Greene farm. That's where we were heading before the herd. Do you know where that's at?"

He thought a moment. "I think so. It's a several miles away, but we could probably get there in a few days."

She wanted to jump for joy. She was going to be reunited with Daryl again. He'd know she was alive and they would be together. Suddenly she paused and looked over her father.

"I won't have to cover myself in that, will I?"

* * *

Andrea's feet ached and she knew they had to be swollen. They had been walking for what seemed like miles following the two convicts, because that's what they were. The orange jumpsuits had given them away the moment they had seen them, but for some reason she hadn't felt any malice from them and had decided to trust them.

They had guns and so far had kept the couple safe. She already owed Oscar her life, since he had shot a walker from getting her when she had joined them after she had walked into the woods to relieve herself.

"Oscar," Axel spoke to his fellow inmate. "We need to find a place to settle soon. The little lady behind us doesn't look like she can go much further."

The big black man looked behind him to see that his friend was right. The blond woman was slowly getting farther and farther behind her boyfriend.

"You're right." He agreed. "Maybe we can find an abandoned car or something to hole up in. Anything that will keep us from being completely exposed."

"Got it." Axel nodded and kept his eyes peeled.

"Excuse me?" Milton said from behind them. "Can we stay there?"

They both turned and saw where he pointed. It was a tiny cabin, probably had only had one occupant before the world ended. It was nearly hidden by the trees, but he had somehow seen it.

"Good find." Oscar clapped him on the back and began the walk to the cabin with Axel close behind. He waited for Andrea.

"Are you okay?" He cupped her cheek.

She gave him a weak smile. "Yeah, I'm just tired and my feet hurt. I'm so glad you found this place." She gave him a quick kiss. "My hero."

* * *

Someone kicked his boot, but he didn't need to look up to see who it was.

"Eat." A plate of food was shoved in his face.

He ignored it. "Ain't hungry." He mumbled.

"Bullshit." Once again, the plate appeared in his vision. "Ya haven't eaten since this mornin'. Ya can't tell me ya ain't hungry, now."

This morning, Carol had been alive. Carol had handed him his breakfast with a smile and a kiss.

"I'm goin' to bed." He stood up so abruptly, he almost knocked the food into Merle's lap. No one said anything as he made his way to his tent. The same tent he would now sleep in...alone. Slipping under his sleeping bag, he was shocked at how quickly he fell asleep.

Several hours later, he found himself opening his eyes and seeing someone outside his tent. He could see their outline as they bent forward to unzip the canvas. The figure was too small and feminine to be Merle and Maggie wouldn't open his tent without announcing herself first.

So, who the fuck was it?

He reached for the knife he let close, just incase anything of the undead persuasion stumbled into their camp.

The zipper slowly went down and he prepared to stab if he had too. The knife was raised above his head.

The tent was completely unzipped and... Carol stuck her head into the tent.

His mouth went dry at the sight of her. She was covered in blood, but she was smiling and  _alive._

He couldn't believe his eyes. She was here. She wasn't dead...she was  _here._

"C'mere." He dropped his knife and reached for her. Desperate to have her in his arms again, but she pulled away.

"I'm covered in blood, Daryl." She grimaced. "Let me clean up first and then I'll be in your arms all you want." She winked.

He followed her out of the tent and went straight to the truck. Merle and Maggie were nowhere in sight, which was odd since it was their watch, but he didn't worry about it. He had Carol back and that was all that mattered.

"Where are you going?" She asked.

He turned to face her. "I was goin' to see if we had any water and rags to clean ya up with."

"On my way here, I stumbled onto a nearby pond." She grabbed his hand. "Let's go to it. It's only about a five minute walk."

He followed her into the woods and finally he asked the question he had been holding in since she had suddenly appeared.

"How did ya escape from all those walkers?"

"I got tackled by one of them, but managed to kill it before it could bite me. Then, I ran into the woods." She wasn't looking at him. "I should have stayed back and saved Maggie."

He nearly stopped in his tracks. "What are ya talkin' about? Maggie's fine."

"Oh." She looked relief. "I didn't know. I ran into Merle earlier and he looked upset. I thought Maggie had...you know."

"Naw, she was probably jus' in their tent sleepin'."

"Good."

They walked in silence for a couple minutes and then Daryl blurted out, "I'm sorry."

She turned to look at him. "For what?"

"I didn't go after ya. I was goin' to, but then I jus' knew ya hadn't survived all them walkers. If I had known-"

"You didn't." Suddenly her cool hand was on his cheek. "I would have thought I was dead too, if I had seen the size of that herd. I'm glad you didn't go back for me. You would have been killed."

It was true. He knew it was true.

He was about to say something when she suddenly announced, "We're here!"

Daryl looked at his surroundings. Everything was glimmering in the moon's pale light and as far as he could tell, there were no walkers. The pond itself was small and had reeds and various other plants surrounding it.

Carol immediately began to shed her clothes.

"What are ya doin'?" Not that he minded seeing her bare skin.

"I'm taking a bath, Daryl." She lifted her blood-splattered shirt over her head and threw it at his feet. "This is the perfect time and place to do it. Plus, I can really use one right now. I haven't been clean in weeks."

Inch by inch, more pale skin was being exposed and he couldn't keep his eyes off her. It had been almost three weeks since the last he had slept with her and now, all he wanted to do was take her right there.

"Daryl," she slinked up to him. Completely naked. "Aren't you going to join me?" She slipped the crossbow from his back and began unbuttoning his shirt.

God, he needed this. He needed  _her._

"I missed you," she said as she trailed kisses across his collarbone. "I didn't think I was ever going to see you again." She pushed the shirt off his shoulders and went for his belt.

He needed to kiss her. So, he cupped her cheeks to force her to look at him. When she did, he gasped.

This wasn't Carol.

Her eyes were milky and sunken. She took one look at him and lunged for his throat.

He woke up, drenched in sweat and Merle calling his name from outside of the tent. Sucking in large gulps of air, he looked around. He was alone. Which was a relief, There was no walker Carol...but then again, there was no Carol, either.

* * *

The next morning, Andrea woke with a headache. She didn't say anything as she nibbled one of the last granola bars and walked next to Milton. The night in the cabin had been one of the best nights since this whole thing had begun and she was reluctant to see her go.

"Oscar and Axel both say that Fort Benning is the safest place we can be right now," Milton had whispered to her as they packed up their few belongings. "They want to get there as soon as they can and I want to, too." He kissed her cheek. "You don't look very well. Are you sure you're okay?"

She nodded. "I'm just tired, that's it. Once we get to Fort Benning, I'll be alright." All her hopes were in finding this place.

That conversation had been hours ago and she was feeling worse. The headache pounded at her temples, her stomach groaned in hunger and she could no longer feel her feet.

She felt like she was going to faint. Black spots floated in her vision and she reached for Milton, but he was too far.

"Milton!" She cried and then she collapsed.

Milton was at her side instantly and so were the two prisoners. Milton was on his knees, hands roaming her body frantically. She was out cold.

"We have to get her somewhere safe." He looked at the two men behind him, eyes full of fear. "I think there's something wrong with her."

"I think there's a town around here somewhere." Oscar knelt beside him. "It might be abandoned, but I'm sure they'll have medical supplies."

"We have to take her there." He moved to pick her up, but the big black man stopped him.

"I've got her. We need to get there in hurry and we don't need the extra weight to slow you down."

Milton nodded and watched as Oscar picked up his girlfriend almost as if she weighed nothing.

"She's gonna be fine, Milton." Axel placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "We'll get her somewhere safe before you know it."

A half hour later, Andrea still had not woken up and the three of them now stood in front of a large barricade. Two men stood atop it, guns trained on them. A large wooden door opened and two more armed men walked out, led by a man who didn't appear to be armed at all.

He gave them all a wide smile.

"Well, what do you have here," he said. "More survivors? Good." His eyes landed on Andrea's limp figure and his smile vanished. "Has she been bitten?"

Milton shook his head. "No, she passed out awhile ago. She needs help. Please." He pleaded

The man nodded. "Of course, come in. We have someone that can look at her." He began walking back to the wooden door, then paused and looked back at them the smile back on his face. "Oh, and welcome to Woodbury."

 


	14. Chapter Fourteen

**Chapter 14**

One of the 'nurses' stepped out of the room they had put Andrea and walked up to him. She was rather young looking, probably only a little older than him, and had her black hair cut to her chin.

"Milton?" She asked, looking down at him since he was slumped against the opposite wall. It had been an hour since they had put Andrea in there and he had been anxious to know how she was doing.

"Yeah, I'm Milton." He scrambled to his feet and stood face to face with the woman. "How is she?" He felt like he was in an actually hospital waiting for the doctor's results, but in truth it was just a small inn whose rooms had been converted to infirmaries.

The woman smiled. "She's doing fine, just a little dehydrated and the baby is doing fine, as well."

"Baby?" He blinked in confusion. What baby? They hadn't had a baby with them when they had come here. What was this woman talking about?

"Oh, I'm sorry," her eyes went wide. "I thought you were Andrea's-"

"I am her boyfriend."

"And you didn't know she was pregnant?"

"No." He shook his head, not really grasping what was happening. It was all so sudden. "Do you know how long?"

"Hmm," she covered her chin in thought. "By the size of the bump, I would say around three months. I'm not sure, though, I've never been pregnant."

Milton tuned her out as she rambled on about her husband and babies. Andrea was pregnant? She was pregnant with his kid and she had known. There was no way she hadn't and she had kept it from him on purpose. It explained how she had been acting lately. But, why would she keep it from him? It was his.

He clenched his fists. He had a right to know. What if Andrea had died? Then he would have never known about the son or daughter he'd never had. How long was she going to keep it a secret? Until she couldn't anymore?

"You can see her now," the woman must have noticed he hadn't been paying attention and only looked slightly annoyed about it. "She's awake and asked about you."

He didn't even answer or look at the woman; he just walked by her and entered the room where Andrea was in.

The moment he stepped in, she gave him a soft smile, but that smile faded when she saw his expression. She knew that he knew.

"Milton, I'm so-"

"Why?" He crossed his arms. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

She didn't look at him and focused her attention on the blanket in front of her. "I didn't want you to worry."

"You didn't want me to worry?" He remained standing in the same spot and didn't come near her.

"We were moving into a new apartment, we were still in school and when I finally was going to tell you, this crap started."

"Those aren't good excuses, Andrea."

"What?" She looked at him in surprise. "But I-"

He unfolded his arms and stared at her with anger and pain in his expression. "You should have told me the moment you found out. It's my child, too."

"Milton, I-"

"I'm glad you're alright, Andrea." Then he turned on his heel and walked out of the door.

* * *

An hour after she had been plowed to the ground by her own father and separated from her friends and lover, Carol and Marc stumbled, tired, into the little camp the Spencer's had set up.

There was one small tent, it looked to be only a one person tent, and a small fire, which Sharon was cooking something over. She looked up in alarm at the two and then broke into a smile when she saw them.

She went to Marc first, giving him a quick kiss. Fortunately, his face was walker gut free. Then she went straight to her stepdaughter and engulfed her in a large hug.

"Oh my God!" She exclaimed. "I can't believe he found you!" She quickly looked her over and gave her another bone-crushing hug. "You were the reason why we started heading up here. You and Daryl. We had to know you guys were all right." Stepping back from her, Sharon looked around with a frown. "Where is Daryl?" Her face fell. "Is he-?"

"No." Carol quickly reassured her. "We got separated from them."

"It's my fault, actually." Marc spoke up. "When I walked up to the highway, all I saw was her and a herd and I knew I had to get her out of there. I didn't find out until later that Daryl, his brother and his brother's wife were on the same highway."

"Oh dear." She gasped. "How are we going to ever find them?"

"We heading to the Greene farm, before we got separated and I'm sure that's where they will be heading now."

"We plan on leaving in the morning." Marc had grabbed a rag and started wiping guts from his arms and neck. "Is that okay?"

"Of course!" Sharon agreed. "We're down to our last can of beans and I know they have to have some supplies there."

Carol nodded. Hershel was a smart man and the fact that they had a farm with livestock and crops helped them. She just hoped that everyone was still alive.

"Okay, Carol, why don't you take the tent for the night? Sharon and I will keep watch." Marc wrapped on arm around his wife's shoulders and looked at his daughter.

"I can help take watch if you get me up for it."

Both of them shook their heads. "No, we got it, honey." Sharon said. "You look exhausted."

"Are you sure?" They had been walking in the woods for a while; her dad had to be tired, too.

"We're sure. We don't sleep much anymore, anyway."

"Okay. Thanks." Carol gave them each a hug and went to settle down in the tent.

It was small, but she fit. There was one thin blanket and a small pillow. It was the most comfortable bed she had ever laid down on. She could barely keep her eyes open once she laid her head down on the pillow.

"I'm going to see you soon, Daryl. I promise."

* * *

Daryl lagged behind Merle and Maggie. Their truck had run out of gas a couple miles before and now they were on foot, backs weighted down with their left over supplies.

"At least we're almost there," Maggie had announced when the truck had sputtered to a halt. Merle had agreed and he hadn't said anything. He hadn't spoken a word since Merle had tried to get him to eat and the couple hadn't talked to him since then either.

He was grieving and last night's dream hadn't helped  _at all._  It had been so real, though. It had felt like she had been there, talking and touching him. But it wasn't. She would never be real again. She was dead. He had failed to protect her.

"Hey," Merle called back to him. "If ya don't hurry it up, one of them walkers is sure gonna get ya!"

"Let 'em." He mumbled, but quickened his step.

The trio came to a stop right at the beginning of a dirt road. It looked familiar to him.

"Daddy's house is about a mile down this road." Maggie said.

Both Dixon brothers nodded and without another word to each other, they began walking down the road. Daryl knew that he should be relieved that they were going to be somewhere safe, but he wasn't.

Carol should have been by his side.

* * *

Hershel Greene was out on the front porch with his youngest daughter when the group of three came into view. If had been younger, he would have run out to meet his daughter, but because of his age he stood on the wooden porch and watched them approach.

The moment Beth saw her sister; she let out a small scream and flew to her. Sobbing into her older sister's shoulder, she kept telling her repeatedly that she was glad she was okay. Maggie, too, had tears in her eyes as she hugged the blonde girl.

Hershel walked out and greeted the group and as his eyes raked across the Dixon brothers, he noticed a familiar face was missing. Carol. And he could tell by the anguished look on the younger Dixon's face, that she hadn't made it. He winced inwardly at the loss. Carol had been a sweet girl and a good friend to his daughters. It saddened him that she was gone.

"I'm glad you all are here," he said, finally. "I was so worried that... Never mind." He didn't want to pain Daryl anymore. "Anyways, I have two spare rooms upstairs for the three of you. You can put your stuff in there and Bethie has already made us some supper."

"Good thing I'm hungry, otherwise I wouldn't be eating," Maggie teased and ruffled her sister's hair.

"Hey!" Beth swatted at her playfully. "I can cook."

"If you say so..." She playfully rolled her eyes and walked into the house, followed by everyone else.

Once inside the door, Hershel pulled Daryl aside. "I'm sorry for your loss, son."

Daryl didn't say anything and looked at his boots.

"Carol was a sweet girl. She-"

"Don't." Daryl looked up at him and pleaded. "Please."

"Alright," the older man nodded in understanding. "But if you ever need someone to talk too. I'm here." He gave him one last squeeze on the shoulder and left the room.

* * *

Once Daryl had set down his supplies, he slipped of his shirt and sat on the edge of the bed to pull of his boots. Everyone was in the Greene's dining room eating, but despite his protesting stomach, he was not going to make an appearance.

He was going to take advantage of having a bed again, but knew that sleep would not come easy. He wouldn't allow it to, just in case he had another dream with Carol in it.

Throwing the comforter to the floor, he then slipped under the sheet, turned to his side, and faced the window. His arm snaked to the empty space in front of him and wished that he had Carol's warm body to wrap his arm around.

He grabbed the extra pillow and slammed it against the side as Merle's loud laugh echoed through the house. Why the fuck was he so happy?

He was about to climb out of bed and tell his brother to shut the fuck up, when someone knocked on his door.

Who the hell was that? He didn't want to talk to anyone right now.

"Daryl?"

It was Maggie.

"I brought you food."

He didn't even acknowledge her and heard her set something on the night table beside him.

"Ain't hungry." He mumbled, even though his stomach was telling him something different.

She sighed loudly. "You haven't eaten for two days. It ain't healthy."

"Don't care."

The mattress dipped and he was shocked to feel her sitting down beside him. It was clear he didn't want to talk to anyone, so why was she still here?

One of her hands was gently placed on his shoulder. "Carol was my friend, too. It hurts to know she isn't here anymore."

God, he didn't want to hear this.

"You're hurting, Daryl." She removed her hand. "I know how you feel. I lost my mother when I was young and it was the worst thing that could have ever happened to me. For days, I laid in bed and refused to eat or drink. It got so bad I had to be rushed to the hospital. Daddy made me promise to never do that again. He had just lost his wife and he didn't want to lose me too." She sniffed and tears pricked her eyes.

"There a point to this?" He growled.

She ignored his harsh tone. "She wouldn't want this, you know. She wouldn't want you to starve yourself and-"

"How the fuck would ya know?!" He suddenly turned on her. "She ain't fuckin' here! How would you know what she wanted?"

Maggie quickly shot to her feet, startled with his angry outburst. Deep down, she knew that it was long time in coming.

"Daryl-"

"I'm fuckin' fine, Maggie. Now, just leave me be." He turned from her and went back to his side.

She held back her sobs until she left the room. He was hurting so bad and she knew there was nothing anyone could do about it.

 


	15. Chapter Fifteen

**Chapter 15**

Daryl lay awake for hours, the sun hadn't even come up yet and he found himself unable to fall back asleep. After his conversation with Maggie, he had eyed the plate of food she had left behind, wearily. With reluctance, he had sat up in bed and eaten everything on it.

Maggie had been right; Carol wouldn't want him to starve himself.

Setting the empty plate back on the night table, he turned off the light and went to sleep. His sleep was quickly interrupted when he had another dream with Carol. He had forced himself awake before anything bad could happen and refused to fall back asleep. This was going to drive him insane.

So, for hours he lay away and watched the sun slowly creep through the curtains in his window. When he heard movement downstairs, he decided it was time he got up. Maybe he could go hunting, get some meat for the table and hopefully clear his head.

And if there were any stray walkers that were mercilessly killed by his hand, well then he'd call it a good day.

"Good morning, son." Hershel greeted him from the long dining room table. In front of him, he had a cup that looked filled with coffee and an open bible.

"Mornin'," he shifted nervously on his feet and bit the skin on his thumb. "Um, ya got any meat?"

"For breakfast?" The old man stood up. "I could cook you some bacon, if you want. It's about the only thing I can cook around here." He chuckled softly.

Even though his stomach liked the idea of being filled with bacon, he shook his head. "Naw, I mean, do ya have any meat for supper? I can go out and snag a deer, if ya want."

"Hmm, I haven't had venison in a long while. If you can get us a deer, son, I'd be mighty happy."

He gave him a quick nod. "I should be back in a few hours, in case anyone wants to know where I'm at." He walked to the door, picked up the crossbow he had set there, sling it over his shoulder and walked out the door.

Before he could take that first step down the porch, someone grabbed his arm and pulled him to a stop.

"Where the hell ya think yer goin'?" The raspy voice of his older brother cut through the silence of the early morning. Why the hell was he even up at this hour, anyway?

"Huntin'." He tried tugging his arm out of Merle's grip, but to no avail.

"Are ya sure?" He forced Daryl to turn around and look at him.

"What the fuck ya mean, I'm sure?" He brought his other arm up and shoved his brother hard in the chest. It surprised him enough to let him go and he bounded down the steps.

"If ya ain't back in two hours, little brother," Merle called after his retreating form. "I'm going to hunt down yer ass and drag ya back here!"

Daryl didn't even turn around to acknowledge that he had heard, truthfully he wouldn't have been surprise if all of Georgia hadn't heard his brother's yelling.

* * *

"What's all the commotion, son?" Hershel joined Merle at the railing of the wrap-around porch. "I'm sure you've probably woken up my daughters."

"Sorry," he mumbled, but didn't keep his eyes off his brother. When he had seen Daryl leave the house, the first thought that came to mind was that he was leaving. Not just to go out hunting, but leaving the farm completely and never coming back. Carol's death was hitting him hard, which was too be expected, he knew he would be feeling the same if Maggie had been the one to lose her life.

"You thought he was leaving for good, didn't you?" Hershel said beside him.

Merle nodded, carefully hiding the shock of the older man's uncanny ability to know what he had been thinking.

Hershel crossed his arms over the railing and leaned on them. "I think he just needs some time alone. He's dealing with a terrible loss and no matter how much we want to deny it, there's nothing we can do to help him."

"Yeah, I know, but I still wanna fuckin' try."

Hershel placed a fatherly hand on the larger man. "I think all he needs right now, is time for himself. When he gets back, we can tell him that we'll be there for him and that's all we can do."

* * *

"Ed!" Buck's voice bellowed through the small campsite. Big Tiny raised his head from where he was cooking something over the fire, but didn't say anything.

Ed appeared from behind one of their trucks and walked up to the older man. "Yeah, Buck?"

"Tomas and Andrew back from their scout, yet? It's been two fuckin' hours!" The large man was getting impatient. They were running low on supplies and he needed to know if there was anything or anyone around they could loot. He knew he should have gone himself.

"No." Ed answered and resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Couldn't the man see that the two former prisoners were not in camp?

"I'm fuckin' stravin' and I sure as hell don't want another can of them God damn beans!" He shouted in the direction of Big Tiny, who flinched at the harshness of his tone. For a large man, he was one hell of a pussy. Flinching at every loud noise.

"I'm sure they'll be back soon." Ed reassured. His own stomach was running on empty as well and he was sick of beans, too. But if that was all they had to eat, then he supposed he shouldn't complain. At least they had food.

"If they ain't back soon, I'm going to look for 'em myself and I'm gonna kill 'em!" With those words he stomped over to his tent and disappeared inside.

Ed wanted to kick something. Why the hell did he think it was a good idea to stick with the Dixon? All he ever did was bark orders and threaten to kill them.

If he wasn't so sure that the man would carry out the threat, then he would have stuck up to him.

Hell, he had even thought of staging some kind of mutiny, but the only person he semi-trusted in their group was Big Tiny and he wasn't even sure of the huge man would lift up arms to their leader. When they raided camps, Ed had noticed early on that most of the large black man's shots missed their targets and he had a feeling that it wasn't because of lack of talent.

Andrew and Tomas were two men he did not trust at all. They mostly kept to themselves and Ed had a sinking suspicion that they were planning something. So far Buck had kept them in line, but he knew it wouldn't take much more for one of them to snap and attack their self-proclaimed leader.

"Yo!" Tomas's voice broke through his thoughts and he looked up to see the two men walk into their camp. "We found something you'll want to know about."

"The hell is it, then?" Buck reemerged from his tent and stood in front of the two men.

"Me an' Andrew found a town of some sort about five miles from here. There seems to be a lot of people inside."

"Armed?" Buck asked.

"Hell yes. They had men on top of these blockades and each had a rifle in their hands. One blockade even had a machine gun." Tomas continued to speak.

"Fuck!" He cursed loudly. "Well we sure as hell can't ambush 'em; we'd be dead in seconds."

"It looks like a pretty nice place." Andrew spoke up. "Maybe we could somehow join up with them and see how everything is being run there."

Buck's face broke out in a grin. "Are ya sayin' we take 'em from the inside?"

Both men nodded.

"Sounds like a God damn plan!"

* * *

"There you are." A sudden voice coming from behind him caused him to jump.

Milton turned to face the visitor in his room. He had his own room, one of the Woodbury people had shown it to him and the sight of the bed nearly had him in tears. Andrea would soon join him in there once she was deemed fit enough to leave the infirmary. He still didn't know what to do about her. She had kept their baby from him and she had no right. He was angry at her and would probably be for awhile.

The man that now stood in his room was the same man who had welcomed them into the town. Milton couldn't recall his name. Had he even given them one?

The man must have noticed the confused look on his face because he said with a smile, "The name's Phillip Blake."

"Milton." He stuck out his hand and Phillip shook it. "I just want to thank you for letting us in here. I don't know what would have happened to Andrea if...we hadn't gotten so lucky."

"It's no problem, son. We were happy to have some new survivors join our town." Phillip walked over to the round table in the room, sat down in one of the wooden chairs and gestured for him to take the other one.

He did.

"How is your girlfriend doing? I haven't had the chance to check on her."

"She's doing fine. One of the woman said she had just been dehydrated and..." He paused, unsure if he should tell this stranger of her pregnancy. But if he was going to let them stay here, then he deserved to know.

"She's pregnant, as well."

"Oh." This perked Phillip up and he sat up straighter in his seat. "Do you know how far along?"

He shrugged. "The nurse said about three months. I didn't find out until today."

"Hmm, this is interesting." Phillip rubbed at his chin. "We don't have any pregnant women here at the moment, so we'll need to go on a supply run to get some things for the baby."

Milton looked up, surprised. "You're going to let us stay here?"

"Of course," he said and stood up. "Us survivors need to stick together. We won't turn you away, but if you ever feel like you need to leave, then we won't stop you."

Milton nodded.

"Well, I must be off. I have other things I need to do. It was nice to talk to you, Milton and I would like to have a little chat with you and the rest of your group later. If that's alright?"

"Of course!" Milton scrambled to his feet.

"Good. See you later." He turned to leave, but Milton called out for him to stop. "Yes?"

"When you go on that run, the one for the baby things please let me know. I would like to accompany you."

Phillip smiled. "Of course."

* * *

"Fuck!" Daryl cursed loudly when the deer he had been tracking for the past hour shot from its spot by a tree. He had been about to shoot the damn thing, but something had spooked it and now, it was off. Again.

Goddamn Walkers.

In the hour he had been out hunting, he had come across five walkers and each one he had taken to using his knife on. The first one he had put down, he probably couldn't even count the number of times he had stabbed it in the head and the same went for the other four. He was filled with so much anger and this was his only outlet.

But now, he knew it he was getting late and soon Merle would be hunting his ass down. He'd find him, too. Daryl wasn't the only Dixon to know how to track.

A loud gunshot echoed off the trees. He cursed again. That was going to attract Walkers from miles away. Who had been the stupid idiot to shoot the damn thing?

It had been close, too. Too close.

A rustling in the thick brush to his left had him whipping his crossbow in that direction, loaded and ready to shoot. When he turned, he was shocked to find himself face to face with the barrel of a gun. So, whoever was the person behind the gun was the idiot who had set it off.

Daryl looked at the man's face and recognition paralyzed him. It seemed that the same thing happened to the man across from him.

"Rick!" A woman's voice called from behind him. "You got it. T-Dog and Glenn are dragging it this way now." A skinny woman with long brown hair walked through the brush and gasped when she saw him pointing his crossbow at the man she had been talking too.

"Who's this?" She asked fearfully stepping behind him.

"Um," Rick started unsure. "Daryl Dixon?" He looked at him for confirmation and he gave him a firm nod.

"Thank God!" He lowered his weapon and Daryl followed suit. "I thought that we were the only survivors anymore. Are you by yourself?"

Daryl shook his head. He knew Rick from school. Though he had never talked to the man, he knew that he had been one of the few that hadn't looked down on him. His friend Shane on the other hand...

Just then an Asian and black man walked through the brush, as well, and he saw they were dragging something behind him. Taking a look, he saw that it had been his deer.

Well, shit.

"That's Glenn," Rick pointed at the Asian. "He went to school with us and that's T-Dog, he lived a couple towns over." Both men looked at him and nodded in greeting. "And this," he continued and wrapped an arm around the thin woman. "Is my wife, Lori."

"Hi, Daryl." She gave him a small smile.

He remembered her from high school, too, but didn't really have an opinion of her. She had seemed nice, he guessed.

"So, you said you weren't alone?"

"Naw, the rest of my group is holed up at the Greene farm a little ways from here." He knew he could trust these people and he knew that Hershel wouldn't mind taking them in.

"Carol there, too?" Rick smiled. "I bet you two got married right out of high school and have two or three little ones running around by now."

Daryl's face darkened.

Rick saw it and the smile fell away. "Oh God, I'm so sorry. Shit, I didn't mean-"

"S'alright." He grunted then turned to Glenn and T-Dog. "Do ya think ya can carry that thing a couple more miles?"

At their nods, he didn't say another word and began walking back to the farm.

An hour later, they all made it back to the farm where Hershel welcomed them with open arms, but declared he had no extra rooms in the house for them. Rick had said it was alright because they had some camping supplies with them.

Glenn gave the older man an awkward wave, remembering him from the short period he had dated his oldest daughter.

"Alright, I'll have you all set up camp and Maggie and Beth will cook this up for us." Hershel announced after they all had introduced themselves.

"Can I help?" Lori asked tentatively from her spot next to her husband.

"Of course." Maggie smiled and motioned for the young woman to follow her into the house.

Daryl had retreated into the house, ignored looks from Merle and went straight up to his bed. He would come down later for supper, but right now he didn't feel like seeing or talking with anyone.

* * *

It was getting dark and their feet had started to hurt hours ago, but there was no masking the hope they felt.

"We're almost there." Marc announced to Carol and Sharon with a smile. "Just a mile down this dirt road and we'll see the Greene's house."

At the news, Carol wanted to take off running. Daryl was there now and she  _needed_ to see him.

"Do you think they'll let us in smelling like this?" Sharon asked her husband. They had once again covered themselves in Walker guts and much to Carol's relief they hadn't had her join them. As long as she stayed between the couple, none of the walkers had smelled her.

"They'll probably have to hose us off." Marc said.

"Maybe they'll have a shower." Sharon said with a wistful sigh. "What I wouldn't give for one of those, even if it was cold water."

Carol agreed. She never thought she would long for a shower as much as she did now.

Within moments they spotted the large farmhouse in the distant. Carol could barely conceal her excitement she spotted it. A light was lit on the porch and she knew people were there. Knew that Daryl was there.

"Soon," she whispered. "I'm going to be with you soon, Daryl."


	16. Chapter Sixteen

**Chapter 16**

"How are you feeling?"

Andrea sat up a little more in her bed when she heard the voice at her door. Turning, she saw that it was a man she didn't know. He was tall and had bright blue eyes. His voice had a heavy southern drawl.

"I'm feeling fine. Thank you..." She trailed off, hoping that he would get the hint and tell her his name.

"Phillip Blake." He stepped up to the side of her bed and gave her a smile. "I just talked to Lily, the one who's been taking care of you, and she says that you can join your boyfriend in your room tonight."

"Oh." She was unsure how to react to that. She wasn't even sure if Milton wanted to be with her anymore. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." He smiled and took the seat next to her bed. "I just had a little meeting with the three men you showed up here with. If you wish to be citizens of Woodbury, I just ask that you contribute anyway you can. There's many of us here, but there is always something you can help with."

"I can do that." She said.

"Of course, right now you need to take it easy and then in six months you'll be right back in this bed."

"You know I'm pregnant?"

"Milton told me and its good news. A baby is always good news, especially now. So, when the time comes we'll be taking care of you the best we can."

A weight was lifted off her shoulders at that. The past few weeks had been mentally hard on her, knowing that being on the run wasn't good for the baby. Now, they were in a safe place and her baby would come into this world with people who would help take care of it.

"Thank you. I don't know how we can repay you."

Phillip stood up. "How about, if it's a boy you name him after me?" He winked. "Come on," he offered her a hand. "Let me show you to your room."

They stopped a few minutes later in front of a closed door.

"This is your room." Phillip said as they came to a stop. "I'm pretty sure that Milton is in there, right now."

She didn't look at him as she thanked him...again. All she wanted to do was avoid her boyfriend, but knew they would have to talk eventually. She opened the door and found him lying in bed, back to her. With a deep breath, she closed the door, walked to the bed and slipped under the covers.

Milton didn't say anything and she could tell by his breathing that he was still awake. So, she blinked back the tears in her eyes and turned her back on him.

* * *

"Governor!" A Mexican man ran up to him.

"What is it, Martinez?"

He clenched the rifle to his chest. "There's a group of about five men outside. They're all heavily armed."

Phillip's hand went to the gun on his side. "Are they threatening us?"

"No, they want shelter but Shumpert didn't want to let them in with all that artillery and told me to get you."

"Wise decision. We don't need them walking in here with those weapons only to have them turn on all of us."

Phillip followed Martinez outside to the wall and they could hear shouting from one of the five men below.

"Ya best be lettin' us in here soon!"

Martinez turned to his leader. "We suspect he's the leader. All he's been doing is demanding us to let him in."

"I'll take care of him." Phillip took out the gun on his side and once he made it to the top of the blockade, he fired it.

He aimed to miss and the bullet ricocheted off the gravel by the shouting man's feet. Everything went quiet after that. The tall man ordered his men to cock their weapons on the group below and Martinez went to his spot on the machine gun.

"Listen here," he yelled down to the group. "If you want entrance into our fine town, then you better put down your weapons. All of them."

The large black man was the first to throw down his gun and raise his arms. The other four members of his group looked at him in disgust.

"I think you all should follow his example," Phillip kept his gun trained on the big man in front. "We're usually peaceful people, but if you intend to threaten us then I'll have Martinez over here fill you with bullets."

Five pairs of eyes moved over to the machine gun a Martinez sat more firmly in the seat and aimed the gun at them. Four more guns hit the dirt.

"Good." He smiled. "Now, just sit tight and I'll be down there to greet you." Turning to Martinez, he said. "Keep on eye on them."

"Yes, sir."

* * *

The group of men were careful patted down as they entered Woodbury and were led to a set of rooms. As they walked, Phillip introduced himself as the Governor and recited the rules of their town to them.

He could already tell that they would already have some problems with a few of the members, but without their weapons, they weren't much of a threat.

"Here's your rooms." He stopped in front of three empty rooms. "Some of you will have to share. It's all we have left."

The large man didn't look happy.

"Can we get at least some names? Especially if you're going to be staying here."

"Buck." The large man said and walked into one of the rooms and slammed it shut.

"Big Tiny." The large black man said. "Thank you for letting us stay." He walked into his room.

"Ed." And he followed Big Tiny.

The two men that were left seemed to be sizing him up. It made him feel a little uncomfortable and he made note to keep an extra eye on them two and Buck.

"Tomas," said the Mexican.

"Andrew," said the other man and without another words they walked into their own rooms.

Phillip waited until all the doors were closed and ran a hand through his hair. Nine survivors in one day. He didn't mind the numbers, in fact, he was glad, but he couldn't help but feel like he was making a mistake by having these men stay here.

* * *

Dinner had been a quiet affair. Rick's entire group had eaten their platefuls with gusto and Daryl had to guess that they hadn't eaten much since the world had gone to shit. He had grabbed himself a small portion, knowing that he could finish it quicker and could be in his room quicker.

"Where's Shane?" Beth's quiet voice startled all of them. She sank a little bit more into her seat. "I knew you guys were really good friends in high school and I just wondering where he was now. If he's, you know, alive."

Rick set his fork down and looked at his wife. "Shane and I went our separate ways about a week ago. He wanted to go to Fort Benning and we didn't."

"Where the hell were ya gonna go?" Merle asked from his end of the table.

Rick shrugged. "All we were focused on was getting some shelter and food. Figured everyone would be flocking to Fort Benning and they wouldn't have any more room for people."

"So, you let him go alone?" Beth asked.

"Shane's capable of being by himself out there." Rick looked uncomfortable as he spoke and Daryl could tell there was some guilt there. He had left his best friend to live in this world by himself.

The table grew silent after that and no one else had any questions to ask of the newcomers. Daryl finished his food and immediately retreated to his bedroom where no one would disturb him.

Now, he watched as Rick and his group quickly set up their camp in the rapidly growing dark. He was almost half-tempted to grab a tent for himself and set up as far as he could get from everyone. He'd have his own camp and hunt for his own food. No one would bother him and he could live the rest of his life in silence.

* * *

"Carol?!" Maggie exclaimed when she saw three figures set into the light of the porch. Quickly she shot to her feet and ran up to the younger girl.

"Maggie!" Carol's smile grew and she flew at her friend.

"I thought you were dead." The older girl's voice was muffled as she pressed her face into her friend's shoulder. "I saw a walker get you."

"It was my dad." She pulled back.

"Oh, I'm so sorr-"

"I'm right here." The man covered in walker guts stepped forward and the stench of him caused her head to reel.

"He dressed himself in Walker gore, so they couldn't smell him and when he saw me right in front of that herd, he just acted." Carol explained. "He didn't see you or anyone else."

"I'm so glad you're alive." She hugged her again. "Daryl's been-"

"Daryl?" She interrupted her. "Where is he? I need to see him."

Maggie gave her a smile and pointed to the house. "Take the stairs and he's in the last room on the right. He's going to be so happy to see you."

"Thank you!" Then she was off running.

Maggie turned to Marc and Sharon and wrinkled her nose. "It looks like you two could really use a shower."

* * *

Carol stood in front of the last room on the right and carefully pushed the door open. The room was dark, except for a small sliver of moonlight trickling through the crack in the curtains. The light shown on the bed and she noticed a figure huddled on their side.

Daryl.

His back was to her.

She quietly shut the door behind her and approached the bed.

"Daryl?"

* * *

Fuck! He was never going to get any sleep. Every time he shut his eyes, he heard her voice. This time it was coming from right behind him. He wasn't going to turn and see if she was there. If she was, he knew it wasn't real. It was all just a cruel dream.

The bed shifted as someone sat on it and he felt himself tense up.

"Daryl? Wake up."

He felt someone softly shake him. No, he wasn't going to turn over. No matter how real her touch felt.

"Daryl, I know you're awake." This time she tugged on his arm. "Come on, turn around. It's me, Carol." She was pleading with him now.

Suddenly he turned to his back and looked straight into a set of blue eyes that were so familiar to him. His heart ached. Too bad this was all a dream.

Carol smiled when she saw him and cupped his cheek as she leaned over him.

"This ain't real." He said.

"What?" She looked confused.

"This is all a dream." He sat up and looked at her. "This is all a fucked up dream and I bet a bunch of walkers are gonna burst through that door and take you away from me again." He turned from her and sat on the edge of the bed. Once again, his back was to her.

"It isn't a dream." She reached for him, but when she grabbed his shoulder, he shrugged it off.

"Ya say that a lot in my dreams, too."

Just then, she pinched him. Hard.

"Ow!" He jumped to his feet and glared at her while he rubbed the sore spot on his shoulder. "What the fuck?"

She sat crossed-legged on the bed and gave him a smug look. "Oh, did that hurt? I'm sorry." She didn't look sorry at all.

"Hell yeah, that hurt. Jesus Christ ya never-" He froze.

It had  _hurt._  You didn't feel pain in dreams.

Her pinch had  _hurt._

"It's me, Daryl." She crawled to the edge of the bed and looked up at him. "It's really me. I'm alive."

She was alive. She hadn't been bit, she hadn't turned. She was here and she was alive.

Reaching out, he cupped her cheek and his heart raced at the softness of it. It felt like centuries since the last time he had touched her.

She rose up on her knees and was now eye level with him. "I missed you so much, Daryl." She wrapped her arms around his neck.

"God..." He croaked. "I've missed you, Carol. So much..." Without warning, he crashed his lips to hers and it only took her a second to return the kiss in fervor.

He began to push her down on the bed and climbed on top of her. There kiss never broke and his hands began to wonder. God, it had been too long since he had kissed her.

Straddling her hips, he sat up and whipped his shirt off and reached down to do the same for her. Without breaking eye contact, she reached behind her and unclasped her bra. With a flick of her wrist, the piece of clothing joined their shirts on the ground.

His hands went to the button on of her jeans and soon those, along with her panties, pooled on the ground, as well. It had been so long since he had her and he wasn't going to waste anytime. She was back with him and he knew that they would have time for slow later.

She didn't seem to mind their pace and helped work him out of his own pants and boxers.

Both of them laid there panting and naked. She felt him brush along her inner thigh and moaned. With a smirk, he reached down and began to tease her.

"Daryl," she whined, but when one of his fingers slipped insider her, she arched her back and moaned again.

He started to work her, but one of her hands shot out and grabbed his wrist to make him stop.

"Inside me." She growled. "Now."

Looked like he wasn't the only one who wanted to speed things up, so he met her lips in a kiss and pushed inside of her. Both of them froze at the feeling of finally being connected.

"Too long." Daryl mumbled into her shoulder. "I never wanna go this long without ya. Ever."

Her arms wrapped around him and she pulled him closer. "Me too."

With another kiss, he began to move.

* * *

Hours later, they laid close together. Carol's head was on his chest and she traced patterns on it with her fingers and he had his arm wrapped around her.

"I love ya." Daryl whispered as his hand ghosted along the smooth skin of her back. "And ya better promise me you'll never leave me again."

Carol raised up on her elbow and cupped his cheek. "I love you, too, Daryl." She kissed him. "And, I promise."


	17. Chapter Seventeen

**Chapter 17**

Andrea woke up alone in bed, the side Milton had been on was cool to the touch and she knew he had left the room a while ago. Was this going to be another day of him not talking to her? She deserved it, she knew, but she missed him already.

A soft knock sounded on the door and she called out for the person behind it to enter. Phillip Blake, the man who had helped save her life and who was letting them stay in this safe place, strode through, a smile on his handsome face.

"Good morning," he greeted with his hands behind his back. "Milton and the rest of your group are done at the diner down the street eating breakfast."

"Diner?" She asked, confused.

"Yes, we converted the couple restaurants in this town to places where we could feed our citizens. The food isn't anything special, but it's food."

Her stomach rumbled at the mention of breakfast and she threw the covers off her legs. Glad that she was still fully dressed.

"I'll have someone bring you and Milton more clothes later, but for now let me show where they are."

"Okay." She climbed out of the bed, smoothed down her hair and followed the man out the door.

Walking side by side with the Governor, Andrea observed the way he greeted the other survivors. Each of them wore smiles as they waved at him and she wondered how many of them he had saved from death. All of them?

"What's on your mind?" He asked, glancing down at her.

"Do you have a family here?" She blurted out, and then quickly covered her mouth. What a question to ask? What if his family had been killed and she had just reminded him of the fact?

"No," he answered. His tone didn't have any sadness in it. "I did have a girlfriend before all of this went down, but she left me when the disease began to spread more. I don't know where she is now."

"I see." She didn't know how else to respond to that.

"I knew she wasn't the one for me. She told me she never wanted any children."

"And you wanted kids?"

"Yeah, but now that the world has ended, my main priority is surviving and keeping the citizens of this town safe."

"That's a good priority." Andrea agreed. "When this baby comes, I'm going to do everything I can to make sure it lives." She said with a ferocity that she never knew she had.

"And Milton will help. I can see that in him." He stopped in front of a building and held open the door for her. "I see it in him. He's a good man."

Stepping into the diner, she locked eyes with the man they had been talking about and said, almost as an afterthought, "I know."

* * *

That morning, Carol and Daryl walked down the stairs to join the others for breakfast. Carol was greeted with a bear hug from Merle, who nearly crushed the bones in her body with the force of it.

"Praise the Lord Almighty, ya are still alive!" He swung her around once and then settled her back on her feet. "Ya know, if Maggie hadn't told me that ya were back with the livin', I would have still figured out ya had made it back to us."

Daryl and Carol shared a confused look.

"Our bedroom is right next to yours, baby brother. I heard ya'll going at it last night." He pulled Daryl closer and whispered. "Remind me to congratulate ya later, bro. Ya was obviously doin' somethin' right last night." Daryl shoved his older brother away.

Carol was clearly horrified. "Merle Dixon, you did not hear us last night!"

"Heard what?" Marc asked walking into the room, Sharon closely behind him. Both of them were clean and smiling.

Carol's face got even redder. "Nothing, Dad." She mumbled, then grabbed Daryl's hand and retreated to the breakfast table.

Merle laughed at their retreating forms and turned to come face to face with an angry Maggie.

"Merle Dixon," she hissed and stabbed him in the chest with her finger. "They just got reunited last night after he thought her dead; you shouldn't have gone and embarrassed them like that."

"Oh come on, darlin'." He threw his hands up. "I was jus' havin' a little fun with them."

"Well, you could have waited a couple days, at least." She moved to walk away from him, but he grabbed her by the arm to stop her.

"How about we return the favor, tonight?" He smirked.

She shoved him away. "How about I make you sleep on the couch?" With a smirk of her own, she slipped her arm out of his grasp and joined the rest of the group at the table.

* * *

Andrea took a seat next to Milton and her heart fluttered when he greeted her with a smile. Maybe things would be all right between them, after all. She turned to Axel and Oscar and said good morning to them. They returned the greeting.

"Do you mind if I join ya'll? I have yet to eat today." Phillip stood beside their table.

"Of course," Milton spoke up and scooted his chair over so the man could have more room.

"Let me grab a plate and some coffee and I'll be right back." Then he left.

"How are you feeling, Andrea?" Milton turned to her and asked. His voice was soft and she doubted the two men across from them could hear him.

"I'm doing much better." She smiled. "It was nice to be able to sleep in a real bed, again."  _With you._

"It was nice," he said and went back to eating his food. Things weren't exactly back to normal, but they were getting there. At least, she knew he didn't completely hate her.

Phillip joined them minutes later with a plate full of food and a mug full of coffee, but when he sat down, he didn't immediately dig in.

"I'd like to talk to you all for a minute," he said.

The four of them set down their forks and gave the man their full attention. Slightly confused and worried expressions on their faces.

"Last night, a group of five men stumbled to our town. They were heavily armed, but we were able to talk them into putting them down." He took a sip of coffee before continuing. "I have yet to have a chance to talk to them, yet, so for now, I would like you to stay away from them."

"How will we know who they are?" Milton asked. "We're new here and don't know anyone."

"Oh, you'll know who they are," Phillip answered. "They all look pretty dangerous. Two of them are still wearing prison jumpsuits, but I have a feeling all of them came from the same place."

Axel and Oscar froze in their seats.

"How come you didn't think we were dangerous when we came here?" The big black man spoke up. "We're wearing them same jumpsuits."

"I have a good eye for people. I knew you two weren't bad people the moment I looked at you."

Neither of the ex-prison mates relaxed, though. The news the Governor had given them had put them on edge and Andrea knew she'd have to ask what was wrong later. Now, it seemed like Phillip was done warning them about the men and had gone back to eating.

Milton gently grabbed her wrist and she looked at him.

"Andrea," he began. "I don't want you wondering around here alone, now. I want you near me at all times. Is that okay?"

She nodded and understood. He had told her that he would do anything in his power to protect her and right now, that was what he was set out to do.

To protect her and the baby.

* * *

Carol helped clear away the plates, much to the youngest Greene's protest. Daryl found her several minutes later, elbows deep in some sudsy water.

"Beth came up to me and said to get ya away from them dishes," he said and wrapped his arms around her waist and set his chin on her shoulder.

"I want to help." She leaned into his chest.

"Not now. Now, ya have to spend every moment with me." He planted a kiss on her shoulder. "Come on," he tugged her gently. "I forgot to tell ya that I ran into Rick and Lori from high school. They're out back."

"Really?" She whipped around and faced him. Surprise written all over her face. She thought she'd never see any from their old school ever again.

He nodded.

"Can we go visit them?

"We can visit them or," he planted a row of kisses on her jaw. "We can go back up to our bedroom and make good use of that bed."

"Hmm," she tapped her chin in mock thought. "This is a hard decision."

Daryl didn't let her think about it longer, because he picked her up bridal style and made his way to the stairs. Lucky for them everyone had gone outside, so no one witnessed him carry her upstairs.

* * *

"The leader of this damn town is a fuckin' pussy," Buck growled to Ed. They stood in Buck's room and looked out the window to the street below. Together they watched as Phillip Blake moved from person to person, greeting each one warmly and with a large smile.

"He's too fuckin' nice and that makes him soft." Buck turned from the window and stalked to his bed. "I gotta admit, he's got a pretty nice set up here. None of them rottin' bastards can get in and they obviously have some heavy artillery."

"What are you planning on doing?" Ed asked.

"Well, I think we should play nice for a couple weeks." He sat on his bed. "Get the tall bastard to trust us and then when he least expects it, we take over this town and kill anyone who oppose us. How does that sound?"

Ed liked the idea. A town of their own to rule, enough weapons to kill anything or anyone and enough food to survive. It all sounded good to him.

"I'll let Tomas and Andrew in on the plan, tonight. Don't know about Big Tiny. I don't think we can trust his ass."

Ed agreed.

"'Sides, Tomas and Andrew know how to get shit done." He stood up. "Fuck, I'll tell them right now." Without another word to the other man, Buck walked out of the room.

Ed returned to looking out of the window and a flash of blonde caught his eye. He pressed his face closer to the window and swore.

It was fucking Andrea! He'd know that bitch anywhere. On a closer look, he saw that that boyfriend of hers, Milton, was next to her. He knew those two had been pretty close to Daryl and Carol.

So, if they were here did that mean the other two were too? If not, he didn't doubt they would know where they were.

Well, it looked like he was going to be having a little chat with those two soon.

Very soon.


	18. Chapter Eighteen

**Chapter 18**

"Hey, there Blondie," Merle took a seat and greeted his sister-in-law on the porch. She was sitting by herself, eyes focused on the new members to their group in their camp several hundred feet away.

"Don't call me that, Merle." The young woman glared at him. "I do have a name."

"And it's Blondie to me," he smirked and dodged the elbow she aimed towards his ribs. He was glad the girl had warmed up to him. When he had first started dating Maggie, she had been weary of him. Not once had she shown any hostility towards him, but those first few months when he picked up Maggie she would study him carefully. From her eyes, he could tell that if he fucked up and hurt Maggie, then he would have the littlest Greene to deal with.

"Daddy and Maggie are talking with Rick and his group," she folded her knees to her chest and placed her chin on them. This made her look much younger than her twenty-one years. Hell, he couldn't believe she was even old enough to drive, let alone drink. "Rick came running up here after breakfast looking worried."

"Do ya know what's goin' on?" He squinted his eyes to see if he could get a better look at the camp, but only saw a flurry of bodies.

"Nope, they haven't come back yet. I hope it isn't something serious. Rick and his group seem like good people."

"Yeah, from what I could tell they are." He lifted his feet onto the porch railing and leaned back in his chair. "I doubt your daddy would have let them on his land if they weren't."

"He knows Glenn and he knows he's a good man or he was when Maggie was dating him." Beth turned and faced him. "You know, he was really sweet on her. He liked her a lot, I think."

Merle side-eyed her. "Why ya tellin me this?"

Beth shrugged. "I don't know. Just making conversation, I guess."

"Say speakin' of people bein' sweet on one another, where's that boyfriend of yours? Jimmy, right?"

He instantly wanted to take those words back when he watched her face crumble and she buried her face deeper behind her knees. Fuck, he needed to watch his damn mouth. He should have known better to ask a stupid question like that, especially with the world gone to hell like it had.

"Shit, I'm sorry, Beth." His boots hit the wood beneath him with a bang and he scooted closer to the young woman beside him and placed a hand on her shoulder. "I shoulda kept my fuckin' mouth shut."

"He was one of the first to go," she said with a sniffle. "He was out fishing with one of his friends when one of them snuck up on him." She lifted her face to him. "His friend got away and told us about it. We'd been on a break, then, so we hadn't seen each other in a few weeks."

"I'm sorry," he patted her shoulder awkwardly. Merle Dixon was not an expert in comforting people. Hell, if the girl weren't so fragile he'd probably tell her to suck it up.

Beth unfolded her legs and slid closer to him on the bench. "I knew he wasn't the man I was going to marry, but we'd been together for a long time and it hurt to lose him." She turned watery blues on him.

"Yeah, I understand. For two days, my little brother thought his woman was dead and the pain he was feelin' was as plain as day on his face." He had felt guilty as hell those two days because he didn't know how to comfort him. His Maggie had been alright, his Maggie was alive and he had found himself feeling grateful that it hadn't been her taken down by some walkers.

What kind of brother was he?

"I know. I saw."

"I'm about to say somethin' ya probably won' like, but I think ya need to hear it."

She nodded for him to continue.

"With the world like it is, Beth, ya can't really stay fixed on someone's death. It's alright to mourn 'em for a period, but if ya are always in ya head then that's an easy way for ya to get your ass killed. This world is gonna be full of more death and ya jus' gonna have to learn to deal with it."

"I know," her voice was quiet. "I'm going to try. Promise."

"Good." He was just about to get up and see where Maggie had gone off too, when the girl next to him suddenly wrapped her arms around his middle and buried her face in his neck.

"The hell ya doin'?" He growled, surprised at the sudden invasion of his personal space.

"Hugging you. Duh!" Her voice was muffled.

"I fuckin' know that! Why?" He kept his arms straight at his sides. He definitely was _not_  the hugging type.

"You made me feel better about Jimmy." She pulled back and gave him a sunny smile. "I'm glad my sister married you, even though I know Glenn would hug me back."

"They only went out for a week." He took a step back from her. "I doubt if I hadn't come along she would have married him."

Beth shrugged. "You never know." Then with one last smile, she retreated into the house. Merle stared after her.

What the hell was that girl getting at?

And where the hell was Maggie?

* * *

Carol wrote her full name on Daryl's naked chest as they laid in bed together. The blankets were bunched at their hips and a thin layer of sweat gleamed on their skin.

"Do you think we should become valuable members of society again?" She asked and traced after the long scar on his collarbone.

Daryl had his eyes closed and he shook his head. "Naw. I think we should jus' stay here all day."

"Tempting." She laughed softly. "But I think you should go hunting for supper and I should go find Beth and Maggie to help out with lunch."

"Don't wanna hunt," he mumbled and tightened his arm around her. "And I don't want ya to leave."

"I'll compromise with you." She moved to sit up. "How about you go hunting for our supper, maybe get some rabbits for a stew, and once we finish eating supper tonight we can come back to bed and stay here for the rest of the night."

One eye popped open and looked at her. "Hmm, alright. But it's only a deal if ya start supper early and don't hang around to do dishes."

"Deal." She held out a hand to be shook.

"Uh huh, we don't seal a deal with a handshake around her." He pushed her gently back to the bed and rolled on top of her. "We seal it with a kiss."

When she felt him brush against her thigh, already hard and ready even though it had only been an hour since they had last been together, she moaned.

Then a thought entered her mind and she froze.

"Daryl, stop." She stopped him before he could join with her.

"What?" He looked at her, surprise and confusion in his gaze.

"We can't do this anymore."

Hurt replaced the other emotions in his eyes and he moved to roll off her, but her arms tightened around his neck to keep him place.

"I still  _want_ you, Daryl," she said with a kiss. "But...I haven't been on the pill since the world went to hell."

It didn't take long for him to get what she saying. "Shit!" He cursed. "We haven't been usin' anythin'." This was not the time or place for her to get pregnant.

"I know," she avoided his gaze. "So, until we find some form of...protection, we can't have sex."

"God," he groaned into her neck, his naked body still pressed to hers. "It's gonna be fuckin' torture to try and keep my hands off ya."

"Well, you better unless you want a little Dixon running around."

He lifted up on his forearms and looked down on her, his expression very serious. "Ya know, Carol, I wouldn't mind havin' a kid with ya."

She cupped his cheek and gave him a smile. Tears brimmed in her eyes as she spoke. "I know and I wouldn't mind having your child, Daryl. But now isn't the time. Not with the walking dead trying to eat us every where we turn."

"I understand." He didn't bring up the fact that if she did become pregnant, he would become a worrying mess. He would constantly have to keep on eye on her and make sure she wasn't over doing anything. A baby was the last thing they needed to worry about right now.

Carol pinched him lightly in the side and he jumped with the unexpectedness of it.

"Come on," she said and wiggled her way out from underneath him. "Let's get out of bed and get to work."

* * *

Maggie came running up the porch just as he was about to step off it and Glenn was right behind her. Merle didn't know how he felt about  _that._

"Me and Glenn have to go on a run to the pharmacy in town," she said, slightly out of breath.

"Why?" He asked and his gaze shifted to the young man behind her.

"Lori needs some antibiotics and fast. I guess, before they came here she scratched herself on a piece of rusty metal and she didn't say anything until now."

"Is she stupid?" He growled.

"She didn't want anyone to worry, but now it's infected and she has a fever. That's why Rick came running about the house earlier."

"Let me go with ya."

She shook her head. "Rick told me Glenn is quick on his feet and this needs to be a fast job. Besides, we're all ready to go. I just wanted to tell you before I left."

Merle didn't like this. He didn't like his wife going on a run without him. What if something bad happened to her while she was gone?

"Merle." She stepped closer and grabbed his bicep gently. "I'll be fine." She gave him a reassuring smile. "We'll be back in a few hours and I'll have my gun on me at all times."

"Fine." His shoulders sagged in defeat. "But if ya ain't back in two hours, then I'm gonna go out and look for your ass, got it?"

"Got it," she went on her toes and gave him a quick kiss. Then, she turned to the man behind her. "Come on, Glenn, let's go."

Before they could take off in the direction they had come from, Merle yelled after Glenn.

"Hey, Chinaman!"

Glenn stopped and faced him, a scowl on his face. "I'm Korean."

"Whatever." He waved his hand impatiently and strode closer to him. Maggie was already halfway to the camp. "Now, listen up. Ya best look after her, ya hear? Cuz if she comes back with so much as a scratch, I'll be takin' it outta ya ass. Do ya understand?"

Glenn nodded with his eyes wide in fear.

"Good. Now, get and hurry back!"

* * *

Two hours later, Merle was surprised that he hadn't worn a hole in the wooden planks of the porch. His gaze was fixed on the road Maggie and Glenn had rode off on. After they had left, he watched as Rick, carrying an unconscious Lori, walked carefully into the house with Hershel leading the way.

The woman looked pale and there was a thin sheen of sweat on her skin. She didn't look good at all. Rick looked just as bad, but his was because of worry.

Daryl had gone out an hour earlier to go on a hunt and Beth and Carol were in the kitchen putting something together for lunch. Beth had brought him a sandwich, but he had only nibbled on it as he kept his eye on the road.

"She'll be fine," Beth reassured him before she went back into the house, this time to help her dad with taking care of Lori.

He'd only grunted in response. Now, Carol had joined him on the porch and was making small talk with him as they waited.

"Me and Daryl need condoms," Carol suddenly blurted and then slammed a hand over her mouth, horrified.

Merle chuckled, glad for something to keep his mind off his wife. "Ya two already ran out? Ain't surprisin'."

Carol's face grew red and she avoided his gaze. A particular piece of wood seemed to gain her attention. "We haven't been using them."

"What?" He turned on her, shocked. "You're playin' with fire there, girl."

"I know." She sighed. "What about you and Maggie? Have you been-?"

"We used the last one the other night," he said mournfully. No more sex until they could get their hands on another box. "Shoulda told her to grab some when she left."

"If I had known they were leaving, I would have asked, too."

Merle was about to say something, but a dust cloud coming down the road claimed his attention. Squinting his eyes, he saw that it was his wife and Glenn. Fucking finally. He was ready to go out and get them himself.

Maggie skidded the horse to a halt and waited for Glenn to ungracefully dismount the horse.

"Here," Carol called. "Toss me the stuff and I'll run it in."

Maggie did as she was told and dismounted the horse as well. Merle was at her side in an instant.

"Everythin' go alright?" His gaze went between her and Glenn, but neither one was looking him in the eye.

The Korean looked flushed and so did Maggie and her blouse looked rumpled. It hadn't been like that before she left. Merle didn't like what he was seeing.

"Everything went fine," Maggie gave him a smile, that didn't reach her eyes and a quick kiss on the cheek. "We got in and out with no problems." Without another word, she walked into the house.

"Glenn!" Beth called from the house. "I have some lunch for you and Maggie in the kitchen."

"O-Okay!" He quickly walked past Merle and clutched the bag in his hands tighter to his chest. He, too, disappeared into the house.

He followed them and froze when he saw Glenn and Maggie whispering close together in the kitchen. When they saw him standing there, they seemed nervous. Maggie grabbed her food and headed upstairs and Glenn took his out the back door.

Merle got a sick feeling in his gut. Something happened on that run between the two. Something he knew he was not going to like.

 


	19. Chapter Nineteen

**Chapter 19**

_**The run with Glenn and Maggie** _

Maggie reined in her horse when they reached the front of the only pharmacy in the small town. A sign in the window told them to take whatever they needed. She smiled at the kindness and hoped the owners had made it out all right. They had been friends of her Daddy and they had been good people.

Glenn dismounted and once he was righted on his feet, he offered her a hand but she ignored it and dismounted on her own. She handed him the baseball bat she had thought to bring along, then tied up the horse to one of the posts and then took out her gun for herself.

"Behind the counter is the medicine," she said to him before she entered the building. "I'll go there. You can look around and see if there is anything we might need for later."

"Okay," he agreed and raised the bat up higher. "Do you want me to go in first? Just in case there is anything in there."

"Nope. I got it," she said with a clipped tone. Just because she was a woman didn't mean she didn't know how to handle herself. She had Merle Dixon as a husband after all.

Opening the door slowly, she glanced once more at Glenn to make sure he was ready and then walked into the store gun cocked and ready. It was empty. No walkers in sight. Both of them let out a sigh of relief.

"Okay, look for stuff we'll need and I'll be right back." She didn't even check if he was doing as she said.

"There isn't much here," he called to her as he sorted through a nearly empty shelf. "Except some condoms." He grabbed the box and held it up.

Maggie stopped and faced him. She could use those, but he was already shoving them in his own bag.

"So," she said with a smirk. "You plan on using those or something?"

"What?" His face grew red. "U-Uh, no? Maybe."

"Who's the lucky lady, then? There really isn't single woman back at..." She stopped and narrowed her eyes. "Do you have your eyes on my sister?"

"What?!" His eyes widened. "Of c-course not!

She placed her hands on her hips. "Are you saying that Bethie ain't pretty?" She bit back a smirk. It was too easy to get him all flustered.

"N-No! She's, uh, she's, uh, very pretty!"

With a laugh, she patted him on the shoulder. "I was just giving you a hard time, Glenn. But if you see anymore boxes of those, pick them up. I can think of a couple people back at home that will need them."  _Me included._

She kept her gun in one hand and used the other to climb over the counter and get to the medicine behind it. There wasn't much, but she felt confident that there was something back here they could use. Lori's health depended on it.

"Found some lotion," Glenn called back to her. "Do you think we'll need it?"

"Grab it. I'm sure it'll be nice to have." She didn't glance his way as she shouted back and focused her attention on the shelves in front of her.

If she hadn't shouted, she would have probably heard the moans and the scrapping of feet. But she didn't and when she turned the corner, to look in a different aisle, something lunged and grabbed at her shirt. The gun was knocked from her hand and she screamed.

It was a walker.

She shoved the walker hard in the chest and kept it's snapping mouth away from her, but it had a firm grasp on her blouse. The aisle was to small to move around in and her head banged against one of the metal shelves.

"Maggie!" Glenn cried and vaulted over the counter, bat raised above his head. With the limited amount of space between the aisles there was no way he could get a swing at the walker. Plus, he also ran the risk of hitting her with it.

"In my pocket!" She didn't dare keep her eyes off the walker on her. "I have a knife in my pocket. Get it out!"

Glenn didn't hesitate. With one eye on the walker and one eye on his destination, he quickly fished the knife from her pocket. He held it up, a little unsure of what to do.

"Stab it!" She cried and narrowly missed getting her face bit off.

Something seemed to snap in his mind and he lunged forward and sunk the knife deep in the walker's brain. It slumped to the ground, blood pooling on the beneath it. Maggie bent over with her hands on her knees and pulled in large gulps of air. That had been  _way_  too close.

"Not one word," she gritted out.

"One word to what?" Glenn asked. He, too, was also taking large breaths.

"Not one word about this to Merle. Do you understand me?" She straightened and walked closer to him. Hoping that maybe she could intimidate him.

"B-But, he'll want to know what happened today."

"Then lie." She eyed him a second longer and then picked up her gun. If there were anymore walkers hiding back there, she would be ready.

"But I suck at lying!" He whined. "And I suck at keeping secrets, too!"

"Well, you better start getting good at them!" She shouted back.

An hour later, they had finally cleaned the pharmacy of all that they needed and were now galloping back to the farm. She had prepped Glenn on how to act when they returned and warned him again about telling Merle about the walker.

"He can  _not_  know." She hissed when they rode up the porch much later. Merle was waiting for them and at the sight of him her hands began to sweat.

She could have been killed. She could have never seen this man again. This man that she loved so much. When he asked about the run, she had said everything had gone fine and quickly escaped his presence.

Glenn had joined her later in the kitchen and began to whisper furiously to her.

"You need to tell him! I think he thinks we did something while we were gone."

She furrowed her brows in confusion. "What kind of something?"

At the sound of a door shutting, they looked up to see the man they were talking about standing there and watching them with an odd expression on his face. Maggie quickly grabbed her plate of food and retreated up to her room. She couldn't face him right now.

* * *

Buck leaned heavily against one of the brick buildings lining one side of the street. The awning above kept him in the shade and his 'fuck off' attitude kept other people from approaching him. Several minutes before, he had told Andrew and Tomas of his plan to take over Woodbury and was now working on starting the first step.

Make nice to the leader of the town.

He knew that if he was constantly seen as a problem, he would be constantly watched and that was something he did not need to happen. Somehow his men would have to sneak into the armory and snag as much guns as they could. There were only five of them, but if they were able to take out many of the men placed on watch then taking over would be easy.

He just had to find out where they stashed the guns and how to gain access to them without anyone from the town noticing.

"Nice to see you out and about," said a man from his side.

With a barely concealed smirk, Buck faced the man he had wanted to see. Phillip Blake.

"Needed some fresh air."

"It's a beautiful day." Phillip commented with a smile.

"Hey, listen, I jus' wanted to apologize for last night. Me and my men have been strung pretty tight lately and we didn't mean to be so hostile. It ain't the first time guns have been pointed at us."

Phillip placed his hands on his hips. "I understand. This time has been hard on all of us."

"We want to thank ya for lettin' us stay here and if there is anythin' ya need help doin', me and my men will gladly help."

The other man nodded. "Thank you. We can always use the manpower."

"A'right, jus' let me know when ya need us." He turned to walk back into the apartment building he was staying in.

"Will do. Oh, Buck, if you and your men are hungry there is a diner down the street that is still serving breakfast."

"Thank ya. I'll let 'em know." He walked into the building.

Phillip watched him ago, hands still planted on his hips. That man was planning something, he could feel it. He was going to tell Martinez to keep a good eye on him.

* * *

"Look what that Chinaman gave me." Daryl held up a box of condoms with a smile.

Carol looked up from the book Hershel had let her borrow. It had been an hour since they had given Lori the antibiotics and now they were all just waiting to see what would happen.

"Glenn? He told me he was Korean." She placed the book down on the coffee table in front of her and stood up.

"Whatever," he snorted. "Now, I don't have to keep my hands off ya anymore."

Carol rolled her eyes. "Is that all you ever think about anymore? The world has ended and all you care about is sex."

"Well, if I didn't have ya as my woman, then I would think about other things besides sex." He wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close.

She smiled and gently pushed him away. "I think you need to go talk to your brother."

"What?" Daryl stepped back, shocked at the sudden change of subject.

"I saw him walk by awhile ago and he didn't look too happy. I think something's wrong."

He crossed his arms. "Pfft. Him and Maggie probably got into a fight or somethin'."

Carol looked worried. "I don't think so. I didn't hear any yelling. Now, he's just sitting on the porch looking at nothing. You need to talk to him."

"Why?" He didn't care that his voice took on a whiny quality.

"He's your brother."

"But-"

"If you don't go out there and talk to him right now, Daryl Dixon, I will give these," she plucked the box of condoms out of his hand. "To someone else."

"Ya can't-" She gave him a look that stopped his argument dead in it's tracks. "Fine." With a huff he turned from her and walked outside.

* * *

Daryl found Merle sitting on one of the benches on the porch and just like Carol had said it looked like he was staring out at nothing. He had never seen his brother like this.

He sat next to him with a grunt. "What the hell is the matter?" He asked. It was clear he was not happy to be sitting there trying to comfort him. He had better things to do. Like Carol.

Instead of brushing off his younger brother's concern and telling him to stop being a pussy, Merle looked at him and answered. "I think Maggie cheated on me."

"What?" Daryl's jaw almost hit the wooden planks below. Well, that came out of no where.

"Her and Glenn went on a run earlier and when they came back they was actin' mighty weird and her shirt was all fucked up." He placed his head in his hands. "The Asian looked all flushed, like he just got some and neither one would look me in the eye."

"That don't mean she cheated on ya, Merle."

"Then what the fuck does it mean?" He exploded. "I walked in the kitchen to see them whisperin' to each other and she practically ran away from me."

"Well, have ya talked to her, yet?"

"Naw, I've been out here since they've been back," he sighed.

"Ya need to talk to her. She'll tell ya what happened and I sure as hell don't think that she would cheat on ya. She loves ya. She wouldn't have married ya, if she didn't."

Merle looked over at his little brother. "But what if she did? What do I do, then? What would ya do if ya found out Carol cheated on ya?"

He'd kill the bastard she cheated on him with and then, he would... What would he do? He didn't even know. He'd be broken, he knew that. He'd probably go on a rage fit and break everything in sight.

Daryl placed a hand on Merle's shoulder, momentarily surprised his older brother didn't shake it off. "Go and fuckin' talk to her. I'm sure this is all a big misunderstandin'."

A few minutes ticked by before Merle finally stood up. "Fine, but if it's all true then ya are gonna help me bury Jackie Chan's body."

"Carol said he was Korean."

Merle rolled his eyes. "Whatever." Then disappeared inside the house.


	20. Chapter Twenty

**Chapter Twenty**

Fort Benning had been a lost cause.

Rick had been right. He had been fucking  _right_.

The moment his green Hyundai pulled up to the chain link fence surrounding the base, he had known something wasn't right. No one greeted him at the gate and the place looked deserted. So, he took out his gun, shoved open the gate and moved to take a look.

There were several buildings scattered around the area, but he decided to check out the largest one in the center. He didn't make it to the building, however, when about a dozen walkers appeared from the side of the building to his right.

Without thinking, he shot the nearest one and cursed. That had been his last bullet and the sound of the gun had made even more walkers to appear. How could he have been so stupid?

Fort Benning had been full of survivors at one time, but now they were all dead. Or undead.

He stuffed the now empty gun into his belt and took off. His car no longer useful since it had been running on fumes for a few days and had just barely made it to the front gates. Now, he was on his feet, a herd of over thirty walkers had caught his scent and he had no weapon.

It looked like Shane Walsh was fucked.

* * *

Merle made his way up to the room he and Maggie shared and softly pushed on the door. It made no sound as it moved on its hinges and he found Maggie curled up on her side in their bed.

She turned when she heard his footsteps walk up to the side of the bed.

"We need to talk." Was all he said.

She sat up in the bed and looked down at her lap. "Look, Merle, I'm really tired. Can we talk la-?"

"I know somethin' happened on that run and I want ya to tell me!" He made sure to keep his voice down, but anger still could be detected in it.

Maggie still didn't look at him.

He knelt next to her on the bed and gently took her chin in his hand. "Come on, woman." He moved her chin to look at him. "Ya can tell me."

Her eyes watered. "You're not going to like it, Merle."

His heart sank. "Ya can tell me whatever it is and I'll promise not to get made at ya."  _The Korean kid on the other hand..._

"Okay," she took a deep breath and wiped at her eyes. "While we were at the pharmacy a walker...a walker almost bit me."

That was it? That was what happened on their run. He almost breathed a sigh of relief, but then suddenly realized that she could have  _died._ She could have died on that run and he could have never seen her again.

"Ya ain't goin' on another run," he said firmly. There was no way in hell he was going to lose her and if that meant keeping her here, then that's what was going to happen.

"That's why I didn't want to tell you!" She flung the covers off her angrily and climbed out of bed. "I knew that's what you would tell me!"

Merle stood up and stood face to face with her. "Ya almost died out there, Maggie!"

"I can take care of myself."

"That's why ya had yerself a close call, then, huh?" He angrily crossed his arms and glared at her.

"I wasn't paying attention for a one second, Mer-"

"That's how ya can get your ass killed!" He nearly exploded. "One second is all one of 'em fuckers need and then they're takin' a bite out of ya."

"It's not going to happen again."

"You're damn straight it ain't goin' to happen because ya ain't goin' back out there!"

She shoved him. "You can't tell me what to do, Merle Dixon! You may be my husband, but you are  _not_  my owner. If I want to help out and go on a run, then I will damn well go on that run!"

He was stubborn and so was she. Yelling at her and telling her that she couldn't leave the farm was not going to help. He decided to try a different route.

"I can't lose ya, Maggie," his voice went unnaturally soft. "Every time ya go out there, there is always a risk of you not comin' back. I couldn't bare that. Ya saw how my brother was actin' when he thought Carol was dead. That would be me if your ass got killed."

Maggie's face softened and she stepped closer to him. "Honey, you just have to let me do this." She cupped his cheek. "I know this area the best and I can really be of help to every one if I went to gather supplies."

"I know," he said, defeated. He knew that he had lost this argument. Deep down, though, he always knew he would.

"I'll tell you what. How about every time I have to leave the farm, you come with me?"

He could do that. That way he would be able to keep on eye on her and make sure nothing got her.

"A'right. I suppose that's the best I'm goin' to get, right?" He looked up and gave her a slight smile.

"Yep!" She smiled back and kissed him.

* * *

Milton placed a gently hand on the slight bump on Andrea's stomach. It was still hard to believe that they were going to have a child.

He was going to be dad.

"Do you think it's a boy or girl?" He asked, burying his face in her hair and kissing her jaw. They laid together in the bed they shared, on their sides, and she had unexpectedly grabbed his hand and placed it on her stomach.

She no longer had to hide her pregnancy and this was the first time he had felt the evidence of a life growing inside of her.

"I don't know," she answered sleepily. "I don't care what it is. I want to have either one."

"I bet if it's a girl, she'll be just as beautiful as you."

Her lips turned up. "And if it's a boy, then I bet he will get your smarts."

A knock sounded on their bedroom door and Milton moved to answer it. Phillip Blake stood in the doorway with a kind smile on his face.

"I'm sorry to bother you," he peered over Milton's shoulder at Andrea, still on the bed. "I didn't interrupt your nap, did I?"

"No," Milton shook his head. "We were just talking. Is there something you need one of us for?"

"Well, not at the moment. I was just in the neighborhood, so to speak, and I suddenly remembered the run that we have scheduled tomorrow. We're running low on supplies and were planning on going to a nearby town to acquire them." He looked over at Andrea again, who still laid down on the bed, but was listening intently. "I know that the baby isn't due for awhile, but I was thinking that you could join us and maybe grab a few things if you see them."

They still had at least six months before the baby would make its appearance, but Milton knew it would be a good idea to go with Phillip and his men and gather some of the things they would need in the future.

"Of course. Just let me know when you'll be leaving and I'll be there."

"Good," he replied. "We'll be leaving some time after breakfast and if everything goes well, then we will return by night fall."

"That sounds good." Milton was itching for ways to help the man that had taken them in and kept them safe. This was the perfect opportunity.

"I will see you, then." With one final wave, Blake walked from their door and down the hallway.

Andrea was suddenly behind him, arms wrapped around his midsection and forehead set in the middle of his back. "Be careful tomorrow, " she whispered. "I don't know what I would do without you."

* * *

"Buck!" Ed banged on the man's door and waited for him to answer. "Buck, I got something I have to tell you." He called through the door when he realized he was being ignored. "It has something to do about your sons."

The door flew open immediately and Buck stood there glaring. "What about them?"

"I just saw Andrea and Milton." When the older man only gave him a look, he continued. "They were best friends with Daryl and Carol. I bet they know where they are right now."

"Hmm," Buck rubbed his chin in thought. "They might. But I know they ain't goin' to willingly tell ya where they are."

"They won't. But I heard Martinez talking about a run they were going on tomorrow with Blake and I overheard them say Milton was tagging along. I volunteered to go a few minutes later."

"A'right. What do ya plan on doin' then?" He crossed his arms.

"I'm gonna get him alone and demand he tell me where they are."

Buck nodded in approval. "Do ya know if Phillip is goin' with them? It would be a perfect plan to start executin' our plan and shit."

"I don't think so."

"Well, fuck." Buck leaned against the door frame."I guess I can always try and get information outta that boy's woman. I saw her a couple times years ago and she ain't that bad lookin'."

Ed made a face. "Isn't she a little too young for you?"

Buck shrugged. "A man has needs and if she don't tell me what I want to know, then I'm just goin' to have to use her to take care of 'em."

Ed didn't feel sorry for the blonde haired woman. He hated the bitch and knew that she was part of the reason why his ass went to jail his senior year. He could have been playing in the pros if it hadn't been for her.

* * *

His breath was coming out in fast, short bursts, his sides hurt like hell and he didn't know if he could outrun the herd any longer.

Shane tripped over a root,  _again_  and almost just laid there to let the walkers get to him. After he had fled Fort Benning on foot, the thirty or so walkers had followed him. They had been so far behind him that he didn't view them as threat, but when he escaped into the woods he instantly found out that there was even more walkers hidden in there.

So, for several hours he had been running for his life and was quickly coming to the conclusion that he should just stop running and let himself be eaten.

"Shit!" He screamed into the open air, not even caring that it probably attracted more walkers. He was going to die, anyway.

One walker, that had gotten a little too close while he had picked himself up out of the dirt, lunged at him and he barely had enough time to sidestep it. His foot kicked at a thick branch on the ground and he quickly picked it up and swung.

The walker went down and he fell to his knees to smash the bastard's brains in. That hadn't been a good idea, however, because it took up the last ounce of energy he had left.

A hand grabbed his shoulder and he whirled around to see a face full of snarling teeth come flying at him. He fell to his back, the walker falling on top of him, and struggled to shove the thing off him. But for being the undead, they were fucking strong.

He was just about to let his arms go lax and let the thing take a chunk out of his neck, when the tip of a sword suddenly protruded through the walker's head and its body fell limp.

Shane threw the thing off him and scrambled to his feet to see who had saved him. It was a woman that much was clear. If there was anything Shane Walsh knew, it was the figure of a woman. She wore a cloak that obscured her face and trailing behind her was a walker on a chain. It was attached to the woman's belt and had no arms and the bottom of its jaw was missing. As she walked, it moved with her. Almost like a well-trained dog.

"Who are you?" He asked, finally. It had taken him a few minutes of getting over the fact that he was still alive and had been saved from some warrior woman with a fucking sword.

The mysterious woman whipped off her cloak and showed of her dark skin and long dreadlocks.

"I'm Michonne."


	21. Chapter Twenty One

**Chapter Twenty One**

"You know, on days like this you can almost forget that the world has ended." Carol laid curled into Daryl's side as they gently rocked back and forth on the porch swing.

"Yeah, I suppose."

Carol elbowed him gently in the side and he smirked. What she had said was true, though. It was a beautiful day and without any of the undead around, one could almost forget they were out there hungering for human flesh.

"Went huntin' the other day." He suddenly said.

"Yeah?" From the way she said that one word, he could tell she was confused on why he had randomly brought that up.

"On my way back, I found somethin' I thought ya might like."

This perked her up and she shifted to her knees so she could look him in the eyes. "What?" Her own eyes brimmed with excitement. It had been a boring last few days, which they should be grateful for, but there was only so many hours of doing nothing one could stand.

"Why don't ya go and pack yourself a set of extra clothes and I'll show ya."

She hopped off the bench, with a bright smile. "So, are you saying I should plan on getting wet?"

Daryl nodded, stood up, pulled her close and whispered huskily into her ear. "And if I get my way, you'll be gettin' wet in more ways than one."

Carol's cheeks turned red. She wasn't use to Daryl being the one that talked dirty, but she liked it. With a quick kiss to his lips, she rushed into the house and began to pack what she would need for later.

* * *

The first night together, Shane and Michonne barely spoke to one another. Not for lack of trying on Shane's part. He wanted to know more about the woman who had saved his life, but she was set on only answering some of his questions with the most minimal of words.

"Are you alone?"

_Yes._

"Do you have anywhere safe to stay?"

_No._

And so one went the one-word answers until Shane had enough and offered to take first watch while she built a fire. He skirted the walker that she had tied to a nearby tree and headed off into the dark.

He had asked about the chained up walker, but that was one of the questions she had completely ignored. Shane was grateful for the woman, but he didn't know how long he would be able to stay with her if there wasn't going to be any communication.

Waking up the next morning, after he had come back from his watch the night before, he finally realized how empty his stomach was.

"Do you have any food?"

Instead of answering, she only shook her head as she stood up and sheathed her sword. "There's a road not far from here. We can scavenge the cars for food." She walked over to the oddly still and silent walker and held the chain in her hand. "Do you have a weapon?"

He pointed to the empty gun on his belt. "Just this, but I ran out of ammo awhile ago."

With a roll of her eyes, she shrugged off the pack she carried, dug around it and threw a heavy object at him.

It was a knife.

"It's much quieter than that gun of yours, but we'll still need to find some ammo for it. It'll help if we ever get in a pinch."

Shane nodded in understanding and shoved the sheathed knife through his belt. "Maybe I should get myself a sword like yours." He smiled, hoping she'd at least crack a smile at his tone.

She didn't. In fact, she didn't even look at him as she walked by with her little pet. He couldn't help but roll his eyes. This was going to be a long apocalypse if he was stuck with her.

* * *

"I hope you're well-rested." Andrea gently nudged Milton in the side while they walked to get some breakfast.

"Surprisingly after last night, I am." He nudged her back.

Andrea's face grew red. Last night they had made love with each other for the first since the dead started walking. Andrea wanted to believe that it was because they knew they were safe and because Milton knew about the baby, but she knew it was because there was a possibility that something could go wrong on this run and she'd never see the man she loved again.

She hated to think about it, but it was there in her mind. Today, could be the last time she'd see Milton ever.

Tears pricked her eyes and she forcefully grabbed Milton's hand. He stopped in his tracks and looked down at her, concern written all over his face.

"Please tell me you'll be careful on this run, today." She was pleading with him, but she didn't care.

He gently cupped her cheek and wiped away a stray tear with his thumb. "I can't promise that everything will go perfectly, but I can promise you that no matter what happens, as long as I'm still breathing, I will always come back to you."

The words were meant to reassure, but for some reason she got a sinking feeling in her gut. She could tell him he needed to stay and let the others go on the run without him, but she knew that this was something he needed to do.

So, instead of telling him to stay, she gave him a smile back and let him start walking with his hand still in hers. Every second he was gone, she would be praying for his safe return.

* * *

Daryl had informed his brother and Hershel that he and Carol were leaving for a few hours and waited patiently for his woman to make an appearance. It didn't take long until she was bursting through the screen door, a pack slung over her shoulder and slightly out of breath.

"I'm ready!"

He hadn't seen her this excited since the world had ended. But then again, that probably had something to do with the fact that their lives were in danger every second of the day now.

"A'right, follow me." He descended the stairs and Carol wasn't that far behind him.

"Is it far from here?" She was practically bouncing on her toes.

"Maybe around a twenty minute walk." He readjusted the strap on his crossbow. There was no way he was going anywhere without the weapon, now. Especially not when Carol was with him. He needed to protect her at all cost. He wasn't going to allow what happened on the highway to ever happen again. Those few days of thinking her dead had been the worst days of his life.

They had only been walking for ten minutes; the farmhouse was no longer visible as they walked through the woods, when Carol suddenly asked if she could carry his crossbow.

He turned to her. "Why?"

She shrugged.

"What if I need it?" His eyes narrowed as he tried to read her.

"Then I'll hand it to you." She clasped her hands together in a begging motion. "Please, Daryl, I really want to carry it."

"Fine." He lifted the strap over his shoulder and handed it to her. "Ya jus' want to look badass, don't ya?" He smirked.

"You got me." She smiled and settled the weapon against her own back and struck a heroic pose, hands balled into fists and on her hips while she lifted her face to the sky.

"All ya need is a cape and ya could be a superhero."

"I could be Crossbow Woman." She swung the bow around and held it like Daryl had taught her. "I'd strike an arrow of fear in the heart of my enemies!"

Daryl chuckled as he watched her scan the trees, one eye opened. God, he loved this woman so much.

"And you'd be my sidekick," she said and placed the bow back on her back.

He crossed his arms. "Don't wanna be your sidekick."

"Fine then," she pouted. Then a wicked grin crossed his face. He didn't like that grin. "Turn around."

"No," he said automatically. He didn't want to turn his back on her when she had that face. That face only meant trouble.

"Please." Her lower lip stuck out as she began to pout again. "I'm not going to hurt you or anything, if that's what you're worried about."

"That's 'xactly what I'm worried about," he grumbled but turned around anyway. He was actually ready to receive an arrow in the ass, but was surprised when he felt her jump on his back. Her arms wrapped around his neck, while her legs wrapped around his waist.

Instinctly, his arms went under her knees to support her and he staggered a little under the weight, but quickly regained his balance.

"If you don't want to be my sidekick, then you'll have to be my ride." Her tongue flicked at his ear and he had to suppress a shiver.

"I suppose I can be that, but it depends on what kinda rides we're talkin' about here."

"I think you know what kind of rides I'm talking about, Daryl." She gently nipped at his neck. "But if you want a demonstration then I'll gladly show you later."

* * *

It didn't take them much longer for them to finally reach the little pond he had found. Carol still rode on Daryl's back and he didn't mind one bit. It had been awhile since they had acted this way. So carefree.

Once Carol spotted the small pool of water, she slid from his back and gasped. "It's so pretty!"

It really was. Most of the pond was surrounded by tall plants and scattered among the plants were bushels of Cherokee roses. Those had been the first things he had spot when he was coming back from a hunt. He had planned to bring some back to her, but when he found the body of water hidden there; he decided to bring her here instead.

"So, ya like it?" He watched for her reaction.

"I love it!" She dropped the bag she held and moved to unsling the crossbow from her back. "Can we go swimming now?"

"Hold on," he chided and took his precious crossbow so he could gently place it on the ground. It laid a few feet from the bank and would be in reach if he were to need it.

She was shucking off her clothes. Her shirt went first and then her pants. She stood in only a bra and panties.

"Ya know, we brought extra clothes for a reason," he said but moved to unbutton his shirt anyway.

She turned to look at him, a coy gleam in her eye. "Do you want me to put my clothes back on?"

His eyes roamed over the set of pink underwear she only wore. "Hell no."

She smirked. "That's what I thought." She walked up to him and began helping him unzip his jeans. Instead of pulling them down, she reached inside his boxers and wrapped her small hand around him.

He jerked at the unexpected touch.

She leaned close, eyes hooded and dark. "Do you want me to take care of this now or do you want to swim first?"

He grabbed her waist and pulled her closer, wedging her hand between them in the process. He slanted his lips over hers in a hungry kiss, but didn't answer her question.

When her hand began to move on him, though, he knew he had to stop her before things ended a little too quickly. Tearing his mouth from hers, reluctantly, he spoke. "Why don't we go swimmin' now?"

She looked disappointed when she took her hand out of his pants. "Fine."

"Later, though. Don't forget I brought ya out here for more than jus' swimmin'."

After quickly shedding the rest of his clothing, both of them jumped into the water at the same time. It was chilly at first but in no time, they got use to it.

Neither one was ashamed that they acted like children when they began to splash each other. Carol had even snuck up behind Daryl at one point and ducked his head under the water. He had come up spluttering and found she was nowhere to be seen.

Her head suddenly popped up in front of him and she gave him a quick kiss before swimming away. He grabbed her ankle before she could get too far and dragged her back to him. She didn't resist and let herself be pulled along until she was standing chest to chest with him. They were standing in the shallow part of the pond.

He kissed her. "Tired of swimmin' yet?"

"Why?"

"I think ya know why." He buried his face in her neck and ground his hips against hers. She'd get the hint then.

"Carry me back to the shore," she said with a smile and wrapped her legs around his waist. He groaned when that spot between her thighs rested right where he wanted it.

With little difficulty, he walked her back to the shore. Carol detached herself from him and urged him to climb out first. He did and flopped on his back. With a smirk, she crawled over him.

With one hand, he reached behind his hand and grabbed the bag. It didn't take him long to find what he was looking for.

Opening up the box of condoms, he said. "We can't forget these, now."

"I know." She took the foil package and set it by their bodies. "But first we have to get naked." Reaching behind her, she unclasped her soaking bare and bared her breast to him. He didn't hesitate to take one in his hand and run his thumb over the sensitive skin. She shimmied down his thighs, taking his boxers with her.

The cool water of the pond had done nothing to dampen his need for her.

She stood up and shimmied out of her panties. While she did that, he opened and rolled on the condom. He had never used one before, since Carol had always been on the pill, so it had been a little awkward but he eventually got it.

Carol's naked body covered his, then, and she pressed her lips to his. He responded eagerly and buried a hand in her hair.

A moan escaped his mouth when her tongue slipped past his lips. The taste of her flooded his mouth and he couldn't enough. He needed more. More of  _her._

She must have sensed his impatience because she reached between them to once again wrap a hand around him. Her lips never left his.

"You ready?" She asked. Usually he was the one to ask that, but this time she was in control and he liked it.

"Fuck yes."

Then she slowly sank down on him. It was the best feeling in the world to be surrounded completely by Carol. If a walker suddenly came out and bit him then, he'd go out happy knowing that he got to feel like this one more time.

"God, ya feel so good," he gasped as she slowly rose up and down on him. Her only response was to smile and she continued to move slowly.

It was torture.

His hand tightened on her hip. "Carol," he moaned impatiently.

She sped up a little, but it was still too slow. He needed more and it was clear that she planned on torturing him. With a quick move, he flipped them over and she laid beneath him. She pouted at the loss of control, but when he started to thrust into her faster, the pout went away and she wrapped her hands around his neck to bring his head down to slam her lips to his.

A light sheen of sweat coated their bodies and they panted into each other's mouths. He was close, but could tell that she wasn't. He reached between them and suddenly she was arching her back crying out his name. He followed quickly after and soon they both laid there trying to catch his breath.

Daryl wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer to him. "We definitely need to come here more often."

"I agree." She yawned and snuggled closer to him.

* * *

"Hey, Bruce Lee, hold up a minute. I wanna talk to ya." Merle had finally caught up the Asian man just as he was about to step into their camp. Rick was still with Lori, who was doing much better now with some antibiotics in her and T-Dog was already in one of tents.

Glenn sighed and rolled his eyes when he faced the redneck. "He's Chinese."

"Well fuck, I don't know any Koreans and I thought he was pretty close."

He sighed again, already accepting the fact that was probably the best he was going to get out of Merle. "So, there's something you wanted to talk to me about."

"Yeah, Maggie told me about what happened on that run."

Glenn's eyes widened. "She did?"

"Yep and I just want to...uh. I wanted to..." He clamped a hand on the young man's shoulder. "Thank ya." Merle never said thank you to anyone, but this man had saved his wife's life and he figured he deserved one.

"Um, well then, you're welcome."

"Now, don't go around tellin' people that I thanked ya, ya hear? I'll deny it if ya do." He towered over the man, hoping to scare him a little.

"Fine, I'll keep it to myself, but there isn't wrong with thanking someone."

"Merle Dixon don't say thank ya to anyone and if ya hadn't saved my wife then ya sure as hell would never get one. So, ya better consider yerself lucky and keep yer mouth shut."

Glenn frantically nodded his head in fear.

Merle took pity on him and slung an arm around his shoulders. "Now, I've seen ya makin' eyes at the little Blondie up at the house and-"

"I haven't been-"

"Shut up, boy, I've seen ya! Anyways, I'm gonna show ya more of my thanks and I'm gonna teach ya the ways of wooin' a Greene woman."


	22. Chapter Twenty Two

**Chapter 22**

Phillip briefed Milton about the upcoming run while they ate breakfast. He had already spoken to the other man that were going on the run the evening before.

"There will be two separate vehicles because they'll be going to two separate places," he explained. "They won't be far from each other, though. One team is in charge of weapons, clothes and other necessities, while the other, the team you're on, will be in charge of gathering any type of food you can find."

Milton took a long sip of his coffee and nodded. "Which group will you be in?"

"I'm not going on this run. I have to stay here and make sure things keep running smoothly. Martinez and Shumpert are in charge. You will have no need to worry. They are good men and very capable."

Andrea snaked a hand underneath the table to grab his and squeezed. He knew that she was going to be worried about him while he was away, but understood that this was something he needed to do for her and for the baby.

She smiled to herself when she remembered when he had punched Ed Peletier in the nose for saying the things he had about her.

Phillip looked down at his watch and then back at them. "I don't mean to hurry you up, Milton, but Martinez wanted to leave around nine and it's almost that time now."

Milton took the last sip of his coffee and stood up. Andrea followed close behind, her own breakfast finished. Phillip stood up as well and motioned for them to follow him. It was a short walk to the barricade separating Woodbury from the rest of the world.

Two trucks sat waiting and running. Martinez was behind the wheel in one and Shumpert the other.

"Hey!" Martinez leaned out the window of his truck. "There isn't room for you inside, so you'll have to ride in the back."

Milton gulped. That didn't sound...safe. Nothing was safe anymore, though. He looked down when he felt something being pressed into his hands. It was a handgun and Phillip was the one giving it to him.

"I hope you won't need this," he said.

Milton looked the gun over. He had never shot one before and suddenly felt nervous to have it in his hands. But if it kept him from being bit, then he'd gladly and willingly keep it handy.

Andrea suddenly threw herself at him and buried her face in his neck. "I love you," she whispered.

Careful to keep the gun facing away from her, he hugged her back. "I love you, too, and I promise that I'll come back to you."

She pulled back and looked up at him. Her eyes were filled with tears. "I'm going to make sure you keep that promise."

* * *

Shane wearily threw open the door to another car. Michonne had been at it for hours and so far, they had only come up with a box of stale crackers and a half full jar of peanut butter. His stomach growled and he silently told it to shut up.

Michonne suddenly appeared at his side. He hadn't heard her approach and jumped when she began to speak.

"Found a cabin not far from here. I checked it out and its all clear." She tugged her walker pet closer and held a granola bar. "Found some of these, too."

Shane took it gratefully and wasted no time in opening it and shoving it in his mouth. "When did you leave the highway?" It unsettled him a little to know she had left him for a period of time and he hadn't even noticed.

What if she decided to leave him permanently? He wasn't ashamed to admit that he needed people. He regretted his decision to leave Rick and the rest of the group. If Michonne left him, then he'd be left alone again and the thought almost caused him to be sick.

"I went while you were searching the last car." She leaned against the car and threw her dreadlocks over her shoulder. "It was just off the road, so I didn't go far."

That didn't reassure him.

"Are we going to stay there the night, then?" He shut the door to the car when he saw that there was nothing worth taking inside.

Michonne rolled her eyes. "No, I just told you so we could walk right past it." She pushed off the car and tugged her walker to follow. Shane had no choice but to follow her as well.

"I don't know about you," she called over her shoulder. "But I'm getting pretty sick of sleeping outside."

* * *

The sun had gradually moved across the sky and now it bore down on the couple who still laid tangled up together at the edge of the pond.

"Should we be getting up and heading back now?" Carol mumbled into Daryl's neck. She had just woken up.

Daryl's arm tightened around her. "Five more minutes," he grumbled.

Carol detached herself from his side with a smile, and then went to her bag to take out the extra pair of clothes she packed. Dressing quickly, she found Daryl still asleep.

She gathered all of his clothes and, with a mischievous grin, dropped them all on his face. He didn't move to take them off, but his chest puffed up with a sigh.

"Fine, I'm gettin' up." He growled and with a huff, he stood up and began to dress. He was reluctant to leave this place, knowing that they may never have time to come here again.

"Everyone's going to wonder where we went," Carol said with a yawn. "What do we say?"

"That we went for a swim and had sex." Daryl nudged her playfully.

"I'm pretty sure they all figured out the last part. Especially Merle."

Daryl rolled his eyes at the mention of his older brother. He almost had an uncanny ability of knowing whenever they had sex. It had gotten really annoying, really fast.

Carol looped her arm through one of his and slung her bag over her shoulder. "So, I never asked. How did that talk with Merle go?"

He shrugged. "Told him he needed to talk to Maggie. He thought she cheated on him with Glenn."

Carol gasped. "What?"

"She didn't. At least, I don't think she did. I haven't gotten the chance to talk to him, yet."

"I don't think she did. She loves him too much."

"That's what I told him. Well, we'll see how everythin' went when we get back."

* * *

Milton was thankful when the truck finally came to a stop. His glasses were skewed, his hair a mess and all he wanted to do was throw up. The trip had been a bumpy one and with no seat belt or anything to strap him down, he had been thrown all over the place.

He was hoping that when they headed back to Woodbury, someone would take his place in the bed of the truck.

With shaky legs, he clutched the handgun in his hands and hopped down from the truck. He walked over to Martinez's side and waited for the man to get out and give them orders.

The man climbed out of the driver's side, while the others stepped out as well. They all gathered around the front of the vehicle, each with their own weapon out and ready. Martinez looked over all of them and his brow furrowed.

"Where's the other one? The new guy?" He asked.

Milton was about to speak up and say he was right there, but he heard a door slam and the last person he ever wanted to see sauntered around to join them with a cocky grin aimed only at him.

Ed Peletier.


	23. Chapter Twenty Three

**Chapter 23**

Daryl and Carol returned to the farm around suppertime and went their separate ways. Daryl went to find his brother; to make sure everything was all right with Maggie and Carol went up to the house to see if anyone needed help with supper.

Walking up the porch, she was surprised to see Lori sitting on the swing, using her foot to gently rock it. She looked pale and tired, but otherwise fine. The antibiotics had worked.

She smiled when she saw her.

"Hi, Carol."

"Hey, Lori. Feeling better?" Carol moved to sit next to her. She figured she had a few minutes to spare and she did want to know this woman better, especially now that they all had the same goal in mind. To survive.

"Much. I'm glad to finally get some fresh air. Rick has been making me stay in bed and I was getting sick of it."

"He was worried about you."

"I know," she sighed. "I feel guilty for not telling him about the cut earlier, but he already had so much on his plate trying to find us someplace safe and I honestly didn't think things would get that bad."

"Well, now you're somewhere safe and you're healthy. He should be fine, now."

"He is and I'm glad." The swing continued to gently rock and the two women sat in silence for a few more minutes.

Back in high school, Carol had never talked to Lori. Their school was small, but so was her social circle. Daryl had been her only friend for a long time before Andrea and Milton had come along.

Lori hadn't seemed stuck up back then and it was clear that her then boyfriend, Rick, had adored her and still adored her. He hadn't been the only one, though. Shane Walsh had also been infatuated with her. Everyone had noticed. Well, everyone except Rick.

Carol wondered if that was all one of the reasons why the two men parted ways. Lori was Rick's wife now and she wondered if Shane had been having a hard coping with that.

Then again, it had been five years since high school and his feelings could have changed.

Carol stood up. "I'm going to go and see if they need help with supper." She moved to walk away, but Lori stopped her.

"Good luck with that," she laughed. "They practically chased me out of the kitchen when I asked."

Carol chuckled and took her seat back. "Oh, really? Who's in there?"

"Beth and your step mom. From what I can tell, Beth was having a good time talking to her."

"Sharon's a great woman. My dad and I are so lucky to have her in the family."

"Speaking of family." Lori scooted closer to Carol. "Do you think you and Daryl would ever start one? I mean, not right now of course, but if we find some place that is permanently safe, would you?"

Carol felt her face heat up. "We haven't talked about it, but I'd love to have a family with him when it becomes safe enough."

* * *

Daryl found Merle talking to Glenn, who was nodding enthusiastically at whatever the bigger man was saying. Daryl didn't like what he was seeing.

"Merle!" He called once he got closer. Both men looked up at him and watched him approach. "Wanted to talk to ya."

"A'right, bro." He turned to Glenn and slapped him on the back. "Ya do what your ol' pal Merle says and you'll be sure to get the lady."

"Okay, I'll try." Glenn looked at both brothers. "Well, I'll see you both later." Then, he took off jogging towards the house.

Daryl narrowed his eyes. "What the hell was that?"

"What?" Merle's eyes widened. "I was jus' helping the boy get a woman. Nothin' wrong with that, is there?"

"Beth?"

"Course! She's the only available one here." He took a seat in one of the lawn chairs that surrounded the ashes of an old fire. Daryl sat across from him.

"So, I take it you and Maggie are fine, then."

"Yep, we talked it out. Turns out she didn't cheat on me." Merle placed his hands behind his head and used his foot to lean his chair slightly back.

"Told ya."

Merle rolled his eyes. "Ya always right, ain't ya?"

Daryl smirked. "So, how is Maggie goin' to react once she finds out ya jus' sicced Glenn on her younger sister's tail?"

"She ain't gonna find out." He snorted. "And ya better not say shit, either."

"I won't." He stood up then and stretched. He was glad that his talk with Merle had been short. His older brother was fine and there was no need to get all sappy with each other. "Well, I better go. I reckon it's almost time for supper and I'm starvin'."

Merle followed suit and stood up. "You and Carol were gone all day, I can see why you're starvin', baby brother." With a playful nudge, he walked past him.

Daryl groaned. Of course, his older brother would know what he and Carol had been up to.

* * *

Milton slammed his back against the brick wall of the store. They had just finished loading up the truck with all the supplies they had managed to find, when a dozen or more walkers had appeared around the side of the building. It was too risky to use their guns, in case there were more around. Martinez and two other men ran for the truck. One man had been bitten.

Milton had been forced to hide on the other side of the store. He clutched the gun in his hand and peeked around the corner. He was nearly bowled over by Ed.

"Fuck!" Ed cursed, his breath coming out in short, fast gasps and his rifle clutched close to his chest. "They're everywhere!"

"There's more?" Milton asked his voice shaky with fear.

"Yeah, they must have heard the truck start. There's about thirty of them out there now."

"What do we do now?" How was he supposed to get back to Andrea? How was he even supposed to get out of this  _alive?_

"Martinez said he'd drive around. Pick us up at the back of the store, but he wants to lead some of them away first."

Milton nodded. It sounded like a good plan and he followed behind Ed. It was still a shock that he was here, out of all places. He hadn't seen the man in five years and he didn't seem to have a grudge against him, but he couldn't help but still feel uneasy around him.

"Come on, this way!" Ed called back to him; gun out in front of his body in case anything jumped out on them. Milton did the same with his; even though he didn't know what good, he would be if he actually had to use it.

The area behind the store was empty and thankfully free of walkers. About twenty feet from the back of the store, there was a patch of dense woods. A large dumpster was the only thing there and they moved to stand behind it in case anything had decided to follow them.

Nothing had.

It was awkward standing there with Ed, but the man had helped save his life. Sort of. Who knew what would have happened if he had continued to stand there? A walker could have snuck up behind him and that could have been the end.

No more seeing Andrea and he would have never seen their baby.

"Hey!" Ed yelled, yanking him out of his mind. "Over here!" It took Milton a second to realize that Ed wasn't by him anymore and his voice was coming from a ways away.

Looking around, he saw that Ed was standing in the tree line and looking at him with annoyance.

"Do you want to get your ass killed?" He hissed when the bespectacled man ran closer. "You need to get out of your fucking head!"

"I thought we were waiting for Martinez back there?" He asked.

"We are, but the trees give us a better cover." He continued to walk deeper into the woods and Ed followed him.

"We can't go too far, right? We won't be able to see them if we do." Milton was getting a little worried that they would lose sight of the store and Martinez would return back to Woodbury without them.

Ed suddenly turned around and pointed the shotgun at his face. "Do you ever shut up?"

Milton froze in his tracks.

"Give me your gun." Ed demanded and with a shaking hand, Milton did just that. "Now, walk in front of me." He did as he was told and Ed prodded his back with the barrel of the shotgun. "You're coming with me. I have a few questions to ask you."

* * *

It was dark when Martinez's truck returned to Woodbury and Andrea was one of the first people there to greet it. Shumpert had returned with his men and supplies hours ago and that had only heightened her fear.

She just needed to see Milton, now, to make sure everything was good and fine.

However, when only three men stepped out of the truck, her heart sank and tears pricked her eyes.

"No," she gasped in anguish.

Martinez was instantly there along with Phillip. "He's not dead," the Hispanic man was saying. "At least, we don't think so. We didn't see him as one of the biters and another man of ours is missing as well. Ed. We think they might have escaped somewhere and are waiting things out."

Andrea's head shot up. "Ed? Ed who?"

It was Phillip's turn to speak. "Ed Peletier. He was one of the new people to join us here."

If Phillip hadn't wrapped an arm around her waist just in time, she would have sank to the ground in despair. Milton was somewhere out there with Ed Peletier, a man she knew probably still hated them for what happened in high school.

If he wasn't found soon, then they walkers weren't the only things he had to worry about.

* * *

A spring dug in his back, the pillow was lumpy and the blanket was no more than a sheet, but it was the most comfortable bed he had ever slept on. He couldn't even remember the last time he had slept on anything so soft and so warm and so...

Suddenly the sheets were pulled off him and immediately he jerked into a sitting position.

"What the hel-?" The protest died on his lips when he saw the look on Michonne's face. She pressed a finger to lips and motioned to the only window in the small room.

"We got company," she whispered and ducked beneath the windowpane.

Shane moved to get a better look, but she violently pulled him down to a kneeling position. His hand went straight to the gun on his hip. It didn't take him long to remember that it was empty and he cursed quietly.

The only weapon they had was Michonne's sword and that could only be used for close combat. It wouldn't do them much good if the people out there were armed and ready to kill.

"How many are there?" He asked.

"Three. All of them heavily armed, too."

"We can't stay here, then." His eyes searched for a way out and they zeroed in on the backdoor. The cabin was partially hidden by trees and if they managed to sneak out undetected, then the dense woods would quickly conceal them.

Michonne saw where he was looking and nodded. Together they quietly made their way to the door, but Shane stopped her before they could open it.

"What about your...friend?" He tilted his head to the window where they could see the top of the walker's head.

She shrugged. "We leave him. Unless, you want to risk your ass to get him."

"Hell no," he snorted. "He creeped me out, anyway."

Opening the door as silently as possible, she threw over her shoulder. "Just be glad you didn't know him when he was alive."

He didn't have time to ponder what she had said, because she was already taking off into the woods.

* * *

They hadn't gone far when they had heard a gunshot. The noise caused them to duck and Shane nearly face planted into the ground.

"They weren't shooting at us." Michonne was at his side immediately. "Bet they found my  _friend_  on the porch."

He stood up and brushed his pants off. "Mighty stupid of them to be using their guns on such an easy kill."

Michonne didn't say a word and moved to keep walking.

"Wait!" Shane called. "We should stick around. See what they are up too."

She turned around and gave him an 'are you fucking stupid? face', then moved to walk away again.

"We'll stay hidden! If we see what they are up, too, then we can know for sure if we should avoid them in the future."

She placed her hands on her hips. "How about we just avoid them anyway? Good or not, those guns don't look nice."

"Fine, stay here. I'll see what's going on and come back."

"All right, but if you're gone more than an hour then I'm out of here."

Shane nodded and then started to walk in the direction they had just come from. In his mind, he knew that this wasn't the smartest thing to do, he didn't even have a weapon, but maybe this group was a good one. Maybe they'd let in other people and it wouldn't be just him and the warrior woman anymore.

Maybe they had even seen Rick and Lori out there somewhere.

* * *

Shane crouched low behind a large bush. He was far as he dared to get and was lucky that they had left the back door open. The men's voice drifted out to him and he could almost hear them clearly.

"Anything?" One asked.

"Nope," another called from deeper inside the cabin. "But I think someone was just here. The bed's still warm and the back door is opened."

Shane ducked down lower when he heard the voice get closer. Once again, he wished that he had some ammo left in his gun, now he had nothing to use as a security blanket. If one of those men found him, he was most likely good as dead.

"Hey, Dave, do you think it was a woman that was here?"

"Shut up, Jay. That's all you ever talk about, anymore."

"Hey, it ain't my fault. I haven't gotten laid in months and the last woman we found, went to Art. My turns next."

"Well, obviously there isn't anything here, Tony." A different voice spoke up. He sounded like he might be the leader. "Let's head back to camp. Randall said there's a farmhouse a little ways from here. Said he knew the family that lived there. An old man and his two daughters."

Through the gaps in the bush, he could make out three men as they walked out of the back door. One was overweight and middle-aged, another looked to be around the same age as the other and had dark hair and the other man looked to be no older than twenty.

"Well, what are we waiting for," the youngest of the three spoke up. "Let's head back, get a group together and check this place out."

"You just want to get yourself a girl."

Shane figured the youngest one was Jay and he didn't like the look of him. His eyes were shifty and it was clear he was only thinking about one thing.

These men were clearly dangerous and there were even more of them back at a camp. From what he had found it out, it sounded like they looted camps and took the women. Men like that needed to be killed and if he had some bullets, he might have been tempted to put one in each of their heads.

The group walked back around the cabin and after several minutes, he heard a car engine start and the sound of gravel as it drove away.

"Told you they were dangerous." Shane jumped at the voice.

"Jesus!" He cried. "Could you at least make  _some_  noise while you're sneaking up behind me?"

She smirked. "Then what's the point of sneaking?"

He rolled his eyes and stood up. "Did you hear what they said?"

"Some."

"We have to head to that farmhouse."

"Uh-uh," she quickly disagreed. "That's too risky. There's going to more than three men heading there and there is no way in hell we could take them all on. We couldn't even take these three on."

"Look, I've lived here all my life and I know exactly who lives on that farm. We need to warn them before anything bad happens."

Michonne still didn't look convinced.

"I went to school with one of the daughters. We need to get them, before those bastards do." If she didn't agree to go with him, then he would just have to go on his own.

"Fine," she finally said after a few minutes. "But if I get killed on this suicide mission...I'm haunting your ass."


	24. Chapter Twenty Four

**Chapter 24**

"Fuck!" Shane shouted and slammed the door shut on another useless vehicle. They had yet to find one on the highway that had any fuel left in it. It was a car graveyard. "We aren't going to make it in time, if we don't find a damn ride!" He began to pace angrily and ran a hand through his hair.

Michonne leaned on the car he had just climbed out of and crossed her arms. "Maybe we shouldn't even head back there, then. What use will we be if we come  _after_ that other group gets there?"

Shane stopped and glared at the woman. "I told you that we have to do this. We have to warn those people."

"This is coming from a guy who was trying to survive on his own. Why are you all of a sudden giving a shit?"

It was true; he had been trying to survive on his own. He had thought it had been a good idea at first. If Rick didn't want to go to Fort Benning with him, then that was fine. He'd make it on his own.

Then he had almost been killed. If it hadn't been for the woman in front of him, he would have become walker food. In that moment, as he stared up at the hooded figure before him, he knew that this was not the time to try to take the world on his own.

"Christ, Michonne, I know those people! I can't have them get killed while I do nothing." He settled his hands on his hips. "And last time I checked, you weren't exactly running around with a group of your own. It was just you and your walker friend!"

Her face contorted in anger. "Yes, I was on my own, but you don't see me wanting to run off on a suicide mission!"

Shane knew that things could go south very quick with her. He wouldn't doubt she'd leave his ass if he didn't calm down. So, he took a deep breath. "Look, Michonne," he started. "We need people. We can't go on like this much longer. The only weapon we have is that sword of yours and that doesn't do much good if we're up against men with guns. If we help these people, warn them before shit hits the fan, then maybe they'll let us join their group." He took a few steps forward until he stood directly in front of her. She didn't meet his eyes as he placed a hand on her shoulder, but she didn't flinch or move away. "I know it's hard to admit, but we need people if we want to survive."

It was silent between them for a few minutes, before Michonne stepped back from his touch and sighed. "Why don't we check that semi we passed awhile ago?"

Shane's eyes widened. "You want to try driving a semi?"

She shrugged. "If it has gas and will get us to that farm of yours, then why the hell not?"

He looked over her shoulder and down the highway to where the abandoned semi was. He hadn't even given it a second thought when they had walked past it. "All right," he decided. "Let's check it out."

* * *

Milton's feet hurt and he was sure that there was going to be a bruise on his back from where Ed kept prodding him in the back with his gun. It felt like they had been walking for hours and Ed had yet to reveal the reason why he had kidnapped him.

"Are we going to stop anytime soon?" He asked and winced when the gun barrel dug more into his back.

"I said shut the hell up!" Ed growled. "We'll stop when I fucking say we stop."

Milton kept his mouth shut and kept walking. He figured that this had to be more than just a grudge the man behind him had since high school. There had to be another reason for nabbing him. If not, then this man was probably insane.

A cabin suddenly came into view and Ed nudged him in the direction of it. It was going to be getting dark in a few hours and Milton was glad that they would be spending the night in some type of shelter. The last thing he wanted to do was wonder around at night with the walkers.

The cabin seemed safe. There were no walkers hanging around the outside and when Ed opened the door, they found none on the inside as well.

Ed shoved him in and closed the door behind them.

"Take a seat." He ordered and never took the gun off him.

Milton found a seat at a small wooden table in what use to be the kitchen. Ed took the seat across from him.

"So, are you going to tell me why you brought me here?" He asked.

"There's lots of reason." Ed smirked. "But the main reason is because I wanted to ask you some questions."

"And you couldn't do that while we were in Woodbury?"

Ed shot to his feet and knocked his chair over. "Listen here, you fucking nerd, I'd stop trying to be a smart ass and fucking cooperate."

It was clear that Ed was still stuck back in the high school days if he was still referring to him as a nerd.

"Fine," he said. "I'll cooperate."  _Even if I don't know what the hell I have to cooperate for..._

"Good." Ed took his seat and scooted closer to the table. "So, have you and the Dixons remained in touch these past couple years."

"Yes." He answered. He figured there was nothing wrong with telling the truth, but he wanted to know why Ed wanted to know that.

"Did you guys hang out a lot?"

"Not really," he said and got more confused. "Andrea and I lived in Atlanta and they still lived in town. But we did keep in touch. We'd call each other every couple of weeks."

"Do you know where they are now?"

"No. We were going to visit them before the virus started, but obviously didn't work out very well." Milton knew that even if he did know where Daryl and Merle were, he would never tell this man. He clearly had something bad in mind for them.

Ed leaned in closer to him. "I think you're fucking lying."

"How am I lying? I don't know where they are. For all I know, they could be...dead." It was hard to admit that out loud.

"Well, then, it looks like me and you are going to spending a lot of time together because you are going to show me every fucking place they  _could_  be."

"I told you, I don't-"

"Shut up!" He slammed his fist on the table. "You will do this or I will kill you, go back to Woodbury and have a Mr. Buck Dixon have his way with your girlfriend."

Milton felt the blood drain from his face. "No," he whispered. If he had known that Buck Dixon was in Woodbury as well, then he wouldn't have left. He would have stayed with Andrea to make sure nothing good happen to her.

Buck Dixon was bad news.

Ed smirked when he realized that he had been successful in threatening him. "Now, we'll rest up here for the night and in the morning you'll be leading me to stop number one."

* * *

Shane hooted with joy when the semi roared to life and showed that it had half a tank of gas. He looked over at Michonne and smiled. Her gaze was stuck looking out of the windshield, not masking the fact she as ignoring him, and didn't see it.

"Now, how the fuck do you drive this thing?"

* * *

Andrea barricaded herself in the room she had shared with Milton. After revealing that Ed Peletier had taken him, Phillip had escorted her back there and left her with her thoughts.

What was she to do now? She couldn't go out there on her own and find him. She'd probably get herself and the baby killed. But she couldn't just sit idly by. She had to do  _something._

A knock sounded on the door and she made her way over to open it. Phillip stood there with a sympathetic look on his face when he saw her disheveled appearance.

"I would ask how you were holding up, but it's pretty obvious."

She didn't say anything.

"Martinez, myself and a couple other men will be going out in the morning to look for him, Andrea. Shumpert will be left in charge of Woodbury while I'm gone and if you have any problems you can go to him."

She nodded and sniffled. The thought of going the night without Milton by her side was going to cause her to cry again.

"Don't worry, Andrea," he placed a hand on her shoulder and bent to look her in the face. "We'll find him."

She noticed that he hadn't said 'I promise' and she understood. How could you guarantee the safe return of anyone these days? Especially when there were things that wanted to eat you and a man who wanted you dead.

* * *

Carol needed something to do. She felt bad that Sharon and Beth had made supper for everyone while she sat on the porch and chatted away with Lori. So, after supper she decided that she would so some laundry.

Hershel had told her that the washer and dryer were set up in the basement, but since they wanted to preserve the generators they opted not to use them. However, they did have an old washboard down there and if she didn't mind using it, then she was welcome to it.

She went to the camp first and asked if anyone had any laundry to do. Lori had told her that she would do hers and Rick's in the morning, so that she would have something to do. T-Dog and Glenn had happily handed over some of their clothes. It wasn't a large pile, because they didn't have much, but there was still enough to keep her busy.

The next stop was Merle and Maggie's room. The door had been shut and she hadn't seen the couple since supper, so she decided not to knock on the door. She'd get their's later.

The last stop was she and Daryl's room and she knew that they had a little pile of dirty clothes in the corner. Daryl had been discussing with Rick and Glenn about another run for supplies, so she wasn't surprised to find their room empty.

She placed the pile of clothes in her arms on the bed and moved to the corner so she could better collect them. In the pile was a couple of her and Daryl's shirts and some pants. Picking up a pair of Daryl's jeans, she was surprised when something fell out of the pocket and clunked loudly to the ground.

Dropping the pants, she looked at the object. It was a small black box.

She picked it up and opened it. Gasping at the contents of the box, she almost didn't hear the sound of boots approach behind her.

"What do ya got there?" It was Daryl.

Taking a deep breath, she stood up and showed him what was in her hand. His face paled when he saw what it was.

"Daryl," she started and looked him straight in the eye. "What is this?"


	25. Chapter Twenty Five

**Chapter Twenty-Five**

Daryl shifted nervously as he stared at the box in Carol's hand. He had thought he had kept it safely hidden in one of the drawers, but found that obviously hadn't been the case.

"Uh, it's a ring."

Instead of being annoyed with his obvious answer, Carol smiled gently. "I know what it is, Daryl, but...is it what I think it is, though?"

All he wanted to do was ask her what he thought it was just to prolong the inevitable. This wasn't how he wanted her to find out. He had wanted it to be more romantic than her just finding it in a pair of his dirty jeans.

"Daryl..." She pressed.

"Yeah," he finally sighed. "It is what ya think."

She frowned at the look on his face. "What's wrong? Did you change your mind about asking me? Is that why it was in your pants? Do you not want-"

"No," he cried and waved his hands in front of him. "It's jus' that I didn't want ya to find out this way. I was hopin' for somethin' more romantic." The thumb of his right hand went to his mouth so he could gnaw on the skin there.

"It's the apocalypse, Daryl. Things aren't going to get that romantic anymore."

"Jus' didn't want ya to find out. I at least wanted to ask ya proper like."

"Well, you still can." She handed him the box.

Daryl looked down at the ring in his hand and he felt his palms start to sweat. This was it. He was going to ask her. He was going to ask Carol to be his wife.

However, before he could get down on one knee and ask the question, the sounds of approaching vehicles and gunfire interrupted him.

* * *

Merle and Maggie walked out of their room slightly out of breath and sweaty. They had wanted to get some fresh air and decided to sit on the porch swing. The sun was still up and barely peeking over the trees. From where they sat, they had a clear view of the campsite.

"I think Glenn may have a thing for my sister," Maggie said casually.

"Now, why would ya say that?" Merle asked and tried to hide his grin.

"Because he asked my daddy if Beth could sit by the fire with him after supper and there she is. There isn't even an inch of space between them." She shifted in her seat and looked up at him. "You wouldn't have anything to do with that, would you?"

"Me?" He asked, surprised. "'Course not. That boy is old 'nough to make his own decisions and I reckon he wanted Beth to sit with him."

Maggie narrowed her eyes at him and pitched his side. "You're lying. I always know when you lie, Merle Dixon."

"Oh, come on, Maggie. That Asian boy needs a little lovin' and so does your sister."

Maggie stood up and positioned herself in front of her husband with her hands on her hips. "What kind of 'lovin' ' are we talking about here?"

"Uh, the totally innocent kind. The kind that doesn't involve sex, of course." He spoke quickly, hoping that his words would calm her. The last thing he wanted to deal with was an angry Maggie.

She smirked and sat back down next to him. "That's what I thought."

The peaceful summer night was ruined when two black SUVS suddenly drove the yard and headed straight for the camp. Several men poured out of the vehicles. Merle and Maggie were instantly on their feet.

"Shit!" Merle cursed. "I gotta get my gun!" He raced inside, while Maggie watched in horror as one man grabbed her sister and began dragging her to one of the vehicles. She began to scream and Glenn moved to help her, but three men surrounded him with their guns. One man pointed his gun in the air and fired, hoping that it would strike fear in the other man in the campsite.

Maggie remained frozen. What was going on? At that moment, one of the men, one that looked vaguely familiar, looked right at her.

"Hey, there's one!" He shouted and instantly two other men joined his side and began to run up to the farmhouse.

She unglued her feet and ran inside to get her own weapon.

* * *

"That got Beth!" Carol gasped as she watched what was happening down below. "And Lori!"

Daryl cursed and raced to the door where his crossbow laid. "Looks like they're here for the woman. What are they doin' to Rick, T-Dog, Glenn and your dad?"

Carol's scanned the camp and when she spotted them, she gasped again. "They're grouping them together and they have their guns on them."

Daryl cursed again. "Can ya see how many men with guns there are?"

She took a quick head count. "I only see eight. One has Beth and one has Lori. Four have the men and two are heading this way!"

"Fuck!" He opened the door and kept his crossbow in front of him. "Stay here," he ordered and ran out into the hallway without another word.

Stay here while he risked his life? There was no way in hell she was going to do that! So, she raced after him and was surprised to see him standing at the top of the stairs. He turned to her, his face angry.

"Get your ass back in that room, Carol! I ain't gonna tell ya again!"

"I can help!" She argued feebly.

"No, ya can't. Now, get your ass back in there before I drag it there."

"But, Daryl-"

"Now!"

Tears filled her eyes and she finally did what he said. She slammed the door behind her, locked it and slid angrily to the floor. He had no right to order her around like that.

A familiar scream pierced the air and sent her racing to the window. She watched in horror as her step-mom was dragged to one of the SUVs. She had managed to wrestle free, but the man was on her in seconds and slapped her across the face.

Carol knew, after watching that, she couldn't sit in here and do nothing. Merle, Daryl and Maggie burst out of the house, firing. The two men that had been running to the porch didn't have time to react and they were quickly gunned down.

Hershel stood on the porch with his shotgun and fired at some of the men surrounding Rick and the rest of the group.

Everyone was out there fighting, while she was in there. The sight of Beth and Maggie's father joining in the fight made the decision for her. She raced to her side of the bed, grabbed the gun that was in the drawer there and ran outside to join the fight.

* * *

It was like watching something out of an action movie.

Daryl and Merle took cover on the side of the house, but the sound of another approaching vehicle gained their attention and it sounded like a  _huge_  vehicle.

"Is that a fuckin' semi?" Merle asked in astonishment as a semi truck came out of nowhere and crashed into one of the SUVs. Thankfully, it hadn't hit the one with Lori, Beth and Sharon.

It had also caused the men by Rick to become distracted and the Dixon brothers used that to take down one man each.

A woman hopped out of the passenger's side with a sword and immediately made her way to the other SUV. The men had been so shocked by the turn of events that they didn't even see as she stabbed each of them through the chest. Opening the door to the SUV, she ushered the three women out and urged them to make a run for the house.

Maggie ran out, covered them with her gun, and led them to the other side of the house where there was a storm cellar they could all hide.

Only two men remained. Merle watched in amusement as the two men looked at one other, dropped their weapons and ran. Hershel took out one, while he took out the other. Daryl stepped up beside him and smirked. It seemed that it had ended almost as quick as the ambush had started. It was miracle that no one had been hurt...or killed, though.

"Let's go see how they're doin'." Daryl said as he pointed to the four men still in the camp.

* * *

Carol had decided to exit the house on the opposite of where the fight was taking place, that way no one could see her and she'd be able to sneak up on them and take them out. Hopefully.

But then the gunfire stopped and she didn't know if that was a good or bad thing. Had Daryl and the others taken out all the men or had the men...killed Daryl and the others?

She had been surprised when a semi came barreling through the yard, but didn't stop to watch where it was going. She was on a mission and she couldn't afford to get distracted. Her friends were out there fighting for their lives and she needed to help them.

She was about to turn the corner, when a strong arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her back. She let out a scream before the man behind her could press a hand to her mouth.

"Shut up, you little bitch," the man hissed. "You're mine now."

* * *

The rest of the group regrouped in front of the house in the waning daylight. The sun was barely peeking over the horizon and it cast the group members in almost darkness.

Maggie, followed by Beth, Lori and Sharon joined Hershel, Daryl, Merle, Glenn, T-Dog, Marc and Rick. Lori and Sharon went straight to their husbands, who engulfed them in their arms, and Beth ran straight to Glenn, to much eyebrow raising from Hershel.

The black woman with the sword, whose name they found out was Michonne stayed behind the group and kept glancing back at the semi. When one of the doors opened, she rolled her eyes. They all watched as Shane approached a smile on his face.

"Thank God, you are all right," he said and immediately went to his best friend. "I was hoping to get here sooner, to warn ya'll."

"How come you weren't out fighting?" T-Dog asked.

"I would have, but my guns out of ammo. I wouldn't have been much help, so that's why I crashed the truck into one of their vehicles, hoping that I could at least distract some of them."

"Thank you for that, son." Hershel spoke up. "It sure helped."

Merle looked around at the group. "Yo, Daryl, where's Carol?"

"She's inside. It wasn't safe out here for her." He answered.

Merle nodded and didn't say anything else. He couldn't imagine that she had been okay with that.

A scream had them all frozen. Daryl was the first to snap out of it.

"Carol!"

* * *

Carol struggled with the man. She elbowed, kicked and bit to try to gain her freedom, but for the man's small build he was sure strong.

"Stop struggling, baby," he whispered in her ear. "Once I find us a safe place, I'll show you that I can take  _real_ good care of you."

She felt sick to her stomach as he continued to drag her to the woods. She hoped that someone had heard her, but her heart sank when no one came running from the house.

Did that mean they were all dead?

Suddenly the man behind her let her go and let out a scream of his own. Carol watched in horror as a walker took a bite out of the man's neck. They hadn't even heard it approach them. Her eyes widened when she saw that it wasn't the only one. There were hundreds heading straight for the farmhouse.

She turned and ran back to the farmhouse. She was surprised when she ran straight into Daryl. He gripped her forearms and looked her over frantically.

"Are ya all right? Ya didn't get hurt did ya? Bit?"

She shook her head at all the questions and then turned her body to point at the walkers that were slowly making their way to the farm.

"Shit!" He shouted. "A herd that size will tear down the house. We gotta get outta here."

The rest of the group had joined them and at the sight of the walkers coming their way, then ran back in the other direction.

"Grab what you can from the camp and pile in the SUV," Rick ordered.

"You all can use my truck," Hershel said slightly out of breath. "Throw things in there if need be, but we have to hurry."

"Eight people can fit in the SUV and six in the truck," T-Dog directed and then took off to help pack some things.

"Beth, Sharon and Lori, come with me to the storm cellar," Maggie cried. "We can grab some of the canned stuff down there." The three women followed her.

"Shane, come with me and Glenn to pack some of the tents. Merle and Daryl can you keep on eye out and shot any of them that get near us?" Rick asked. The role of leader fit him well.

Carol looked frantically around at everyone running around gathering things. What could she do?

"Stay close!" Daryl ordered her and then turned back to face the walkers that were approaching.

She spotted Michonne off to the side and motioned for her to come over. "Can you help me get some stuff from the house? Like clothes."

Michonne looked over at Daryl. "Pretty sure your man over there told you to stay close."

"He isn't my master; I need to do something to help. So, will you?"

The woman nodded and followed behind her. She went straight to Maggie and Merle's room, found a bag and started throwing clothes in. Michonne went to Beth and Hershel's room. Carol then went to her and Daryl's room and stated to collect the dirty clothes on the floor. Before she left the room, she stopped when she spotted the black box lying on the ground where Daryl had dropped it. She quickly picked it up and stuffed it into her pocket.

Gunfire sounded and she knew the walkers were getting close. "Michonne, hurry!"

The sound of vehicles starting stopped her in her tracks.  _No!_

Michonne appeared in front of her, a bag slung over her shoulder and eyes wide. "They're leaving us!" The two women rushed to the front of the house and watched in horror as the two vehicles drove away.

* * *

Merle had to practically drag his brother to one of the vehicles, Hershel's truck. It had grown dark, the walkers were now surrounding the house and Daryl had tried to run off to find Carol.

"Gotta find Carol," he tried to break free of Merle's grasp. There was no way he was going to leave her behind in a herd again.

"I think I saw her get into the SUV with Lori," Beth piped up.

"You sure?" He narrowed his eyes at the girl.

She nodded.

"The girl said Carol was safe; now get your ass in here before you become walker chow." Merle finally managed to drag him into the back of the truck where they squashed in with Maggie. Hershel drove with Beth and Glenn sitting next to him on the bench seat. Several walkers clawed at the wondows of the truck, but Hershel stepped on the gas and broke free.

"So, that means Rick, Lori, Shane, T-Dog, Michonne, Marc, Sharon and Carol are in the SUV," Glenn listed. "That has to be tight fit."

"It's a fuckin' tight fit in here," Merle said from between Daryl and Maggie. "And I'm pretty sure I got one of your arrows in my ass, bro."

* * *

"What the hell are we going to do now?" Michonne asked as she chopped the head off a walker that had gotten too close. More filled the space and she had to keep swing her sword. They had dropped the bags of clothes and made a run for it.

"I don't know," Carol cried. "We can't go on foot; these things will be on us in seconds." Tears filled her eyes, but she had still managed to shoot a nearby walker in the head.

They were going die.

"Wait," she suddenly spotted the now abandoned semi. "We can take that, can't we?"

Michonne nodded and both women took off for it.

* * *

The group stopped several miles from the farm and got out to regroup. Daryl looked over each member frantically.

There was no Carol.

He whirled on Beth, who cowered at his anger. "Ya told me she got in the SUV!" He roared.

Tears streamed down her face. "I'm sorry! I thought she did."

Merle yanked him back. "Easy, baby brother."

"Fuck that!" Daryl growled. "We left Carol  _again._ " He angrily swiped at the tears that were forming in his eyes. He had told her to stay close to him and what had she done the moment his back was turned? She ran off and now, she wasn't here. Wasn't safe. Wasn't with him and was probably dead.

He couldn't keep doing this. He couldn't keep wondering if she was alive or not. He had thought her dead once and that had almost destroyed him. What was he going to do now? Especially if she really was dead?

* * *

It didn't take Michonne and Carol long to navigate the large truck onto the highway and find where the rest of the group had stopped. Michonne put the semi in park, just as Carol spotted Daryl off by himself.

Thank God, he was all right.

She hopped out of the truck to run straight to him and wrap her arms around his waist. He returned the embrace somewhat stiffly and she looked up to see his eyes were full of steel. They were red rimmed, like he had been crying, but they were hard as he looked down at her.

"Told ya to stay put." He growled and stepped back from her. Her arms fell limply to her sides.

She knew he would be angry, had expected it really. "I'm sorry; I had to do something to help."

"I can't keep doin' this, Carol." He finally sighed and his whole body slumped in what looked like defeat. "I thought ya were dead once already and here I was thinkin' ya was dead  _again._ "

"Daryl, I'm so-"

"I can't keep doin' this," he repeated. "I can't keep thinkin' your dead and I can't stop thinkin' about what would happen if ya were."

"Then don't."

"It ain't that easy!" He nearly shouted. "I'm losin' my sanity here and that's goin' to either get you or me killed. I can't do this."

Tears filled her eyes. "What are you saying?"  _Please, don't be what I think you're saying, Daryl. Please._

"This." He gestured between them. "I love ya, but I need to focus more on ways of keepin' ya safe and not on more ways of beddin' ya."

"You can still keep me safe and stay with me, Daryl." She begged.

He shook his head. "I think it'll be better for both of us if we take a break." He avoided her eyes.

"Daryl-"

"I gotta go talk to Merle." And he left her there, alone.

Carol sobbed into her hands.


	26. Chapter Twenty Six

**Chapter Twenty-Six**

Milton's gaze was focused out of the passenger window and on the trees and houses that they passed by. They had been in the car; one they had found on a deserted road, for an hour and the scenery was starting to look very familiar.

This was home. Or it had been before he had packed up and moved to Atlanta with Andrea. They drove past their old school and for a moment he thought Ed was going to stop the car but when saw the walkers milling around the grounds, he sped up instead.

Milton had asked before they had found the car where they were heading, but Ed had ignored him and practically shoved him into the passenger's seat. The night before, Ed had found some rope and had tied Milton's hands tightly in front of him. There was no way he was going to escape anytime soon.

Now, he had an idea of their destination and when they pulled into a driveway, one bare of any vehicles, his suspicions were confirmed.

They now sat parked in front of Carol and Daryl's old house. He wanted to turn the man in the driver's seat and ask 'Really?', but he kept his mouth shut. It was clear that there wasn't anyone there.

"Fuck!" Ed cursed and climbed out of the car, with one hand wrapped around the shotgun. Milton managed to open the passenger's door with his bond hands and followed him. It wasn't that he wanted to follow him around, but he wanted to make sure that his friend's weren't there. And if they were... Well, he'd tell Ed to end them, so that their animated bodies could be put to rest.

Arriving at the door, Ed pushed Milton in front of him. "You go in first." He said.

"Why?"

"Daryl is the kind of guy who'll shoot first, ask questions later and I'd rather not get shot." He said it like it was the most obvious thing. "And if they're not alive in there, well then, I'll figure that out when one of them takes a bite out of you."

Milton gulped. "And what if the house is completely empty?"

The other man rolled his eyes. "Then we'll go to Merle's house and see if he's there. I ain't going to stop until I find them!"

Milton sighed as Ed opened the front door. He was traveling with an insane man.

* * *

The house had been empty and after checking Merle's house, they found it to be empty as well. Ed threw a fit, throwing his gun to the ground and kicked the tires to their car. Milton watched from a distance, relieved that they hadn't found anything. Ed planned to kill his friends and that was something he did not want.

Suddenly, Ed stopped his fit and stood up straight. Milton got an uneasy feeling when he saw the other man smile.

"That's it!" He exclaimed. "That woman of Merle's, Maggie Greene. She has family in the country. They have to be there." He looked over at Milton. "Get your ass in the car!"

The car ran out of gas halfway to the farmhouse and they joined the numerous other gasless vehicles. It was growing dark and Ed didn't want to chance walking around at night. So, he opted to stay in the car. He climbed in the back and laid down, but before he drifted to sleep he told Milton that he wouldn't hesitate to shoot him if he heard him try to escape.

Milton just rolled his eyes and resigned himself to the passenger's seat. This was going to be a long few days and for some reason he didn't seem worried. He knew he should be, Ed could kill him at any minute, but he was calm and he knew he'd be reunited with Andrea.

He just hoped it would be soon.

* * *

Two days had passed and Phillip returned with no news of Milton. Andrea held her tears back and tried to go back to the conversation she was having with Axel and Oscar. They had changed out of their orange jumpsuits and now wore normal clothes.

"I'm sorry," Phillip whispered to her before he walked out of the diner.

Axel and Oscar had been by her side since Milton's disappearance. They had shown that, despite being in jail before the outbreak, they were good men. Now, they seemed worried and Axel kept looking over his shoulder.

"What is it?" Andrea asked, hoping it was something that would get her mind off her missing boyfriend.

Axel looked fearful when he looked over at Oscar. "I think I just saw Tomas and Andrew walk by."

At the mention of the two names, the large black man whipped around to stare out of the large window in the front of the diner.

"I don't see anything," he said. "But if they're here, that means Buck is, too. Shit."

"Buck?" Andrea looked between the two men, a sick feeling in her gut. "Buck, who?"

Oscar was the one to answer. "Buck Dixon. Cruelest mother fucker I have ever met."

Andrea's blood turned to ice and the fork she held in her hand clattered to the table.

* * *

Shane watched as Michonne climbed out of the car in front of him and walked to his side of the SUV. With the addition of him and Michonne, they had needed another vehicle to drive around in. Things were getting too cramped in the two vehicles they had and, much to the sword-wielding woman's dismay, they had decided to leave the semi behind. Now, they had Hershel's blue truck, the SUV and a black Dodge Avenger they had found on the part of highway they had all met up at.

Shane had wanted that car, but Michonne had claimed it first. Carol, Glenn and T-Dog had all filed in before he could even get in a word. So, without a choice, he drove in the same vehicle as Rick, Lori, Marc and Sharon. Hershel and his truck, which held Beth, Maggie, Merle and Daryl, led the small convoy and he wondered why they stopped.

"Merle found another truck he wants to drive," Michonne answered his unspoken question. "Bet he's getting tired of the old man's stories." She flashed him a sliver of a smile before returning to her car.

He was glad that she had decided to stick around. He had been afraid that she would have gone off on her own once she had seen the number of people that were in Rick's group. He was glad to see that she had also decided that she needed people now.

When another vehicle roared to life and Merle's laughter filled the air, he knew that the Dixon's plan for another car had worked. Shane watched as they drove past in a fairly new looking green ford pickup. From his spot in the driver's seat, he could see Merle behind the wheel, Maggie next to him and Daryl in the backseat.

He briefly wondered why Carol wasn't with them.

* * *

That night, they had been unable to find a place to camp for the night, so they had to camp outside. They formed a circle with the four vehicles and gathered in the middle. Blankets were distributed, but there wasn't enough for fourteen people. Some would have to share.

Rick and Lori, Merle and Maggie, Sharon and Marc, and Hershel and Beth all had a blanket to share. That left Michonne, Shane, T-Dog, Glenn, Carol and Daryl without one and they only had four blankets left.

Michonne grabbed one and with a roll of her eyes, motioned for Shane to follow her. Glenn and T-Dog each grabbed their own. Carol and Daryl were left with one blanket. Carol held it in one hand and looked over at him. Her gaze was hopeful, but he avoided it and stalked to Merle's truck to open the door and hop in. Completely dismissing the question she had silently asked with her eyes.

Tears pricked her eyes as she watched him walk away from her. It had been two days and he hadn't spoken to her once and had barely even looked at her.

"You all right?" Maggie was suddenly there, concern written all over her face. Merle hovered behind, but his gaze wasn't on her but on the truck Daryl had escaped too.

"I'm fine, Maggie." She smiled and hoped it looked convincing. "Just a little tired."

The older woman didn't look like she believed her. "If you're sure, then I'll leave you to get some sleep. If you're not, Merle and I have first watch, so I'll be up if you need to talk."

Carol nodded and quickly hurried away. She didn't want to involve them in her problems. Not now. It had been all her fault. If she had stayed put when Daryl had told her to, if she hadn't ran off to help, then she would be snuggled against his side right now. They would be together and happy, not apart and not speaking.

But no, she had to be stupid. She had to ruin everything.

Settling down close to her dad and step-mom, she covered herself with the blanket and turned to the side. Something in her pants dug into her thigh and reached down to take it out.

It was the black velvet box with the ring in it. The same ring that Daryl was about to propose to her with only a few days ago.

A few days ago, he wanted to marry her and now he could barely stand the sight of her.


	27. Chapter Twenty Seven

**Chapter Twenty-Seven**

"Don't see why we have to wait for him to come back!" Tomas spat out to Buck. The three men, Andrew, Tomas and Buck, all gathered in Buck's room to discuss the plans they had for Woodbury and the man that ran it.

"I told him I would give him seven days to deal with this shit," Buck snapped back, not happy with the way the Hispanic man was talking to him. "He wants to find them sons of mine and that's okay with me. I jus' wanna take over this town."

"It's been three days," Andrew spoke up. "Do you think you can wait another four days? Didn't take you for a patient man, Buck."

"I ain't! But we're goin' to need the man power and Ed is a mighty fine shot."

"Did you talk to Phillip?" Tomas leaned back in his chair and looked towards their leader.

"Yeah, this morning. I gave him those bullshit directions on where Ed was headin'. The sucker believed me and he's sendin' two of his best men out tomorrow."

The other men chuckled. So far, their plan was having a great start. For being the leader of a group pf survivors, Phillip was not a smart man. "That only leaves a handful of men on the wall and Phillip himself." Buck continued. "Did ya two find the armory?"

"Yeah," Andrew answered. "It's located in a building towards the back of the was a little hidden and it's also locked and there were no windows to break into."

Instead of being angry at the discovery, he smirked. "I bet I know who has the damn keys. Mr. Phillip Blake. He will be a piece of cake to take down. Ya'll did good; now all we have to do is wait for Ed to get back."

* * *

Andrea knocked softly on the door she was told to be Phillip's. Axel and Oscar stood on either side of her and together they waited for the man to answer. When he did, he saw the serious faces of teh trio and immediately invited them in to his suite.

"Tea?" He offered.

All three shook their heads and took the seats they were offered around the small wooden table.

"I take it you three have something to tell me," he said and took his seat.

"We do," Oscar spoke up. "It's about the newcomers. We think," he looked over at Axel. "No, we  _know_  they're trouble."

Phillip sighed. "I have figured this out for myself. Buck Dixon approached me earlier today and said he knew where Ed took Milton."

Andrea gasped. "Where?"

"He said someplace south of here. Said that Ed was obsessed with capturing Milton and he always spoke of this place, but didn't think the two were connected, but now he believes that's where they planned on taking him."

"And he just now said something about it?" Andrea asked angrily.

"He said he didn't know for sure. I'm sending Martinez and Shumpert out there tomorrow to see what he is saying is true. A part of me says that it isn't, but another part says it. I'm sending them out to see which part of me is right, but I'm staying behind to keep on eye on Buck and his two friends. Something isn't right about them."

Axel and Oscar nodded in agreement.

"Can I trust you two?" Phillip suddenly asked of the two ex-convicts.

"Of course, sir." Axel answered for the both of them.

"Good. I'm going to give you two a weapon, just in case they try to do anything. Martinez and Shumpert are my best men when it comes to protecting this place, but they are also the best men to go and get Milton back."

"Good," Andrea spoke up. The sooner Milton came back to her, the better.

Phillip looked over at the pregnant woman. "I need you to stay close to me for the next couple of days. Just in case."

She nodded. "Okay." She didn't like feeling as if she was a burden, but she did have her baby to think about and right now, Phillip was the best person to keep her safe.

* * *

Shane groaned as he stood up and tried to work the crick out of his back. Michonne stood behind him folding the blanket they had shared.

"Tell me again why we left our cabin?"

"Because a gang of murderers and rapists found it, too." Michonne deadpanned.

"Oh," he sighed. "Right."

"We can always go back." Michonne joined his side. "Just us, like old times." She nudged his shoulder with a smirk.

Shane opened his mouth to reply, but she continued with a roll of her eyes. "Yeah, I know. We need people." Without another word, she walked to her car, threw the blanket inside and grabbed the breakfast Carol offered her.

He watched all this happen. He wasn't going to say anything about needing people. He was going to tell her that he wouldn't have minded if the two of them went back to the cabin. Just the two of them.

* * *

Carol, with the help of Sharon and Beth, made breakfast for everyone. It wasn't much since they didn't have a lot, but it was something and that's all they could ask for right now. Everyone was gathered around the small fire except for Rick, Shane, Merle and Marc. They were huddled over a map spread out on the hood of the SUV.

Daryl was also missing from the group, but she soon found him sitting in driver's seat of Merle's truck with the door opened. He was chewing on his thumbnail and when she made eye contact with him, he quickly looked away.

"Beth, can you hand me two bowls? I'm going to give one to Daryl." Carol accepted the bowls that the younger girl handed over and walked over to where Daryl sat. She noticed that he began to fidget the more she got closer.

"Here," she said and handed him the bowl. It was only a couple spoonfuls of plain oatmeal, but it was better than nothing.

"Thanks," he mumbled and dug in without speaking another word. He also made it a point to keep his eyes on his food and not on her.

This was getting old. He hadn't said a word to her since he broke things off and now he didn't even want to make eye contact? She messed up, she realized that, but she didn't deserve this. She didn't deserve to be completely ignored.

"Daryl," she finally spoke. "We need to talk."

At her words, he hunched his shoulders and ducked his head lower. "Ain't nothin' to talk about."

Tears filled her eyes, but she quickly blinked them back. Suddenly her hand shot out and grabbed the bowl from his hands and set on the hood. He looked at her then, eyes wide with surprise.

"You don't get to do this," she hissed. "We've been together for five years and best friends for ten. You  _don't_  get to do this. You don't get to act like I don't exist anymore."

He remained silent and turned his head away.

She moved, so that she was still in his field of vision. "Daryl.  _Please._  You can't just cast me off like this, like I don't matter anymore." She moved closer to his body. " _I love you,_  Daryl, and I know you still love me. Right?" She reached to grab his arm, but he reeled back like he was about to be burned.

" _Don't."_  Then he hopped out of the car and walked over to his brother. Not once did he look back. Not once did he look and see the hurt he had just caused her. He didn't even want to touch her now, when only a few days ago he couldn't keep his hands off her.

* * *

Merle watched the exchange between his brother and Carol. He knew there was something going on between them since Carol didn't ride with him in the truck and Daryl seemed to be brooding constantly. He winced for Carol when his brother reeled back from her touch. The hurt that crossed her face set off a spark of anger inside him. Did his brother not know what he was doing to this woman?

He needed to have a talk with him, but it would have to wait because Rick wanted to get the group moving again. There was no telling if another herd could blow through and they didn't want to be caught unprepared. They had a few weapons, but not everyone had one and Rick wanted to raid any town they came across to see if they could find more. Merle was behind that plan. Everyone needed to be armed.

* * *

It was midday when Ed pulled into the Greene's driveway and from the look of things Milton could tell something bad had gone down. There were bodies littered everywhere and a smashed SUV laid off to the side.

Ed took a quick look around and cursed. Even he knew that they weren't there. Obviously, something had happened to cause them all to run off. Milton began to think that they were on a wild goose chase and he also wondered what would happen to him if they never found them. Would Ed ever give up? Would he ever let him go to see Andrea again or would he just kill him?

"Look, there's tire tracks and they look to be pretty fresh," Ed said from his kneeling position by a pair of tracks that had dug into the earth. "Get in the car, we're going to follow them. We can't be too far away!"

With a sigh, Milton did as he was told.

* * *

They found a small clearing on the side of the road and decided to stop to refuel the cars and eat some lunch. The woman moved to fix the food while the men went to scavenge through the cars that were scattered around. Rick wanted them to pair up just in case anything were to happen and Merle went to find his brother, but Glenn intercepted him.

"Can we partner up? I want to talk to you, if that's okay." Glenn looked nervous as he asked and Merle couldn't help but agree. He supposed he could talk to Daryl later.

"A'right, we'll pair up." He moved to the first vehicle and flung the door open. Glenn stood behind him and kept watch as he searched the car. "I suppose this is about Beth."

"U-Uh, yeah, it actually is."

He smiled when he found a flashlight hidden under the passenger's seat. That would be useful. "Well, spit it out."

"O-okay. Do you think she'll even want to get with me knowing that I use to date her sister?"

The rest of the car was a bust and Merle climbed out to face the smaller man. "Well, I reckon with the way she's been hangin' on ya, I doubt that will be a problem."

"Oh, well I was just thinking that maybe she was doing that just because she was scared or something." Glenn took off his ball cap and ran a hand through his hair.

Merle rolled his eyes. "No wonder ya ain't had many girlfriends."

"Hey!"

"It's true! It's clear the lady likes ya. Hell, she even talks to Maggie about ya. All ya need to do now is man up and plant one on her already."

"Really? She won't like slap me or anything, right?"

The older Dixon moved to search through another car and threw over his shoulder. "Not if ya do it right. Now, are ya goin' to help or what?"

* * *

Merle caught Daryl before the younger Dixon could climb into the back seat of his truck. Grabbing his arm, he slammed him against the side of the truck. Luckily, no one could see them, he didn't feel like having someone come and stop the 'fight' when all he was going to do was talk to his brother.

"What the fuck, Merle?" Daryl growled.

"Tell me what the hell is goin' on with ya and Carol." He never let up on his grip. If anything, he held him tighter. There was no way Daryl was running from this conversation. He had seen the way he had run away from Carol earlier and that wasn't going to happen now.

"Ain't nothin' goin' on." Daryl tried to wrestle away, but Merle was too strong.

"Like fuck there ain't. She hasn't been ridin' with us and I saw that little conversation ya had with her earlier. By the look on her face, I would have thought you kicked her puppy or somethin'." He eyed his brother, but Daryl refused to make eye contact.

"There's ain't nothin' goin' on between me and Carol because we ain't together no more."

In his surprise, Merle let him go and stepped back. "Ya aren't together, anymore? I thought ya was goin' to marry that girl."

"I was." he rubbed at the sore spot on his arm. "Then this shit happened and she's almost died twice. Being with her is a distraction. A distraction that could get her killed and I couldn't bear that. The world jus' ended and I've already thought her dead  _twice_. How many more times will I have to think that before she actually is dead?"

"That's bullshit and ya know it!"

Daryl started at the harshness in his brother's tone.

"Carol is capable of takin' care of herself. Me and ya made sure of that. Our women are strong ass woman and yer jus' makin' excuses and it's bullshit. Ya love that girl and she loves ya and breakin' things off with her, especially now, is the worst thing ya can fuckin' do!"

Daryl was silent and looked down at his boots.

"Ya need to work things out with her and until ya do ya ain't ridin' in my truck."

* * *

That night they had managed to find an old house to set up for the night. It wasn't a large house and it only held three bedrooms. Each couple got a room and that left the rest to camp out in the living room. Hershel was given the only couch and the rest were left to spread out on the floor.

Shane and Michonne offered to take first watch and T-Dog and Hershel were to take the second one.

Carol grabbed a blanket and moved to find a corner to sleep in. It wasn't going to do her any good to look for Daryl. He'd never sleep by her again, he didn't even want to touch her. The memory of him pulling away from her so fast made her angry, now, instead of sad.

How dare he? How dare he treat her like that, like he was repulsed by her now? There was no way he'd forgotten about the many nights where all his hands would do was explore her body. Some nights, there wouldn't even be one of inch of skin where he hadn't touched.

The room soon filled with gentle, and not so gentle, snores but Carol remained awake and continued to get angrier and angrier as she thought about Daryl and his treatment of her. Suddenly she jumped to her feet and looked over the room full of sleeping people to find Daryl. She was going to make him talk to her, even if he had to drag him out of the room and tie him to a chair.

He wasn't anywhere insight.

"He's in Daddy's truck," Beth said quietly from her spot near Carol. She must have woken her when she got to her feet and she felt bad.

"Thank you, Beth." She tossed the blanket to the ground and moved to the door. It didn't squeak or make a noise as she opened it, which was relief. On her way down the porch, she passed Michonne who was leaning against the railing with Shane next to her. Both of them paused in their conversation to look at her.

"Something wrong, Carol?" Shane asked.

She shook her head. "No, I'm just going to see Daryl."

"Okay, be careful." He called out to her as she started walking away.

"I will," she said back. "I have my knife!"

She neared the blue truck and even with the pale light of the moon hidden partially behind a cloud, she could see the outline of Daryl's figure sitting in the passenger's seat.

With a deep breath, she walked around the back of the truck so he wouldn't see her and flung the door open on his side. Instantly he went for his knife, probably thinking she was a walker, but when he saw that it was only her he dropped his hand from the sheath on his belt.

"We need to talk, Daryl." She climbed into truck and settled herself firmly on his lap, making sure that he couldn't escape. Without breaking eye contact, she shut the door. "And this time you  _will_  listen."


	28. Chapter Twenty Eight

**Chapter 28**

Daryl silently cursed when his body immediately reacted to having Carol sitting in his lap. He was supposed to be angry with her. After she shut the door to Hershel's truck, she pinned his arms to his side and that caused his pants to grow tighter.

Carol seemed to be ignoring his obvious 'problem', because there was no way she  _couldn't_  feel it, and continued to fiercely stare him in the eye. After studiously avoiding her crystal blue orbs, he found himself unable to look away, now.

"We need to talk, Daryl." She repeated and settled more in his lap. This time he couldn't stop a groan from escaping his mouth. Carol still seemed unaffected by what she was doing to him. He was surprised she hadn't started to use it to her advantage...or had she?

He slumped his shoulders in defeat. "Talk," he said, gruffly. It wasn't that he didn't want to talk with her, but he knew that no matter what she said, he'd forgive her and things would go back to normal. He missed her. A lot. But if they went back to how they were, one of them could end up being killed and he didn't know how he would be able to react knowing that.

He had thought Carol dead  _twice_  and it had felt like his world had ended. What if she did get herself killed one day? What would he do? How would he be able to go on with his life? The whole reason he had broke things off was so that he could distance himself from her. He had hoped it would have helped him be less devastated if anything happened to her, but it had made everything worse.

He missed her so much that it hurt and when she had gone to touch him earlier, he knew he had to reel away knowing that if she had made contact with his skin there would have been nothing to stop him from taking her in his arms.

Carol bit her bottom lip and immediately his eyes went to it. "I just want to say I was sorry, Daryl. For not listening to you...for making you worry and think I was dead. It's just that..." She looked to the side and took a deep breath before continuing. "I need you to realize that I'm not some porcelain doll and that I can take care of myself. At the farm, I admit it was stupid of me to go off on my own while those men were attacking, but I just needed to do something and when those walkers came, I couldn't just stand in your shadow the whole time. Everyone else was scrambling around doing things to help and there I was, feeling like a burden.

"I'm not sorry for running off with Michonne to collect things from the house. I'd do it again, if it meant that I was helping."

It wasn't that he thought she couldn't handle herself, she had proven that she could, but when he had turned around at the farm to see her missing, his heart had sunk and he had thought the worse. And then, when she wasn't with the rest when they had regrouped on the highway, he had thought he had lost her for sure.

"I love you so much, Daryl." She cupped his cheek. "And...if it means that we can be together again, then I'll do whatever you say. I'll stay in the house or car or whatever. I won't go running off."

Daryl sighed. "I can't ask that of ya, Carol." He finally said. "Ya have every right to help out and I have no right to stop ya. I was stupid to think that not bein' together would be a good thing. That it would help us live longer, but..." God, he was about to get fucking sappy. "It ain't really livin' if I don't got ya by my side. Can ya forgive me for doin' this to ya?"

Carol smiled with tears filling her eyes. They were happy tears. "Of course. Can you forgive me?"

"Ain't nothing to forgive, sweetheart." He rarely used terms of endearment with her, but that one just seemed to fit and he planned to use it more in the future. He cupped both her cheeks and gently brought her face to his, so that he could kiss her.

The kiss was supposed to be a gentle one, but it didn't take long for it to heat it up with passion. It had only been a few days since Daryl had last kissed and touched her, but it felt like years.

"Daryl..." Carol moaned into his mouth as one of his hands slid under shirt and cupped a breast. She ground her hips harder into his.

"You're killin' me here, Carol." He panted while he moved to fully remove her shirt and practically tore off her bra.

"Hey," she tore her lips away to reach behind her to unclasp her bra. "I only have one of these, so be careful."

"Wouldn't mind if ya didn't wear one at all."

"Too bad," she said against his lips and slowly slid the garment from her shoulders, knowing that she was teasing him.

* * *

Michonne and Shane were both standing watch at the front of the farmhouse, when Michonne finally spoke.

"I think that we should head to the back to keep watch."

Shane gave her a confused look, knowing that she could barely see it in the pale moonlight. "Why?"

"Carol has been in that truck with Daryl for ten minutes, now."

Shane stood there for a moment trying to understand what the woman standing beside him meant. Then it dawned on him.

"Uh, yeah." He looked over to the blue truck, luckily nothing could be seen going on yet, but he didn't want to chance it. "Let's get to the back."

Michonne smirked and followed him around the porch.

* * *

Carol's hands fumbled with the buttons on Daryl's shirt while Daryl began to trail kisses from her neck down to her collarbone and then, to her breasts. When she had literally jumped into his lap, she hadn't expected things to happen like this. She wasn't complaining, though.

"Missed ya so much," Daryl detached his lips from her skin long enough to say and long enough to finally shrug off the shirt he was wearing.

Her hands went to the button of his pants and once they were undone, she slid a hand inside them. He thrusted up into her hand and groaned into her neck. He quickly grabbed her wrist and told her to stop.

Carol pouted, but she knew his reason behind it. So, she lifted off his lap and moved to remove her own pants and underwear. Daryl did the same since his lap was now free. Daryl had slid out of his pants quicker than Carol and while she struggled with hers, he reached into the back seat and grabbed his bag. Just the other day, Merle had handed him a couple condoms he had found in a car. He didn't think he'd be using them this soon. At the time, he didn't think he'd be using them  _ever._

He rolled the thing on and looked over at Carol. "So, uh, how did ya want to do this?" He felt like a fucking teenager when he had asked that. Like it was their first time having sex.

Without saying anything, she climbed back on his lap and sunk down on him. She buried her face in his neck and gave him a few seconds to collect himself.

"Ya know," he said after a moment. "We've never done this in a truck before."

"Which is surprising." Carol smirked, then she lifted up on her knees and sank back down on his length. A groan of pleasure cut off his next words.

"Can't believe we're doin' this in the old man's truck." He breathed heavily into her neck as she continued to move on him.

"Shh. I don't want to think about that." She paused and Daryl used that moment to shift them and soon, he had her lying underneath him on the seat. He had liked Carol being in charge, but now it was his turn.

"I'm not going to be able to look him in the eye anymore," she continued.

"Thought ya didn't want to think about it." He was slowly moving his hips, hoping to prolong their joining. Since they were on the run now, he wasn't sure when would be the next time he could be with her like this.

"Make me not think about it, then." She smiled pulling his face to hers and kissed him deeply.

Awhile later, they both lay exhausted on the bench seat. Daryl remained between her legs with his head resting just above her breasts. His hair tickled her face and she giggled."I think we should get dressed just in case anyone comes out here." She looked around. "And we should probably roll the windows down. It wouldn't take a genius to figure out what we were up to."

Daryl grumbled, but moved to do what she said. He already was missing the feel of his skin on Carol's. "With our luck, Merle would be the one to catch us."

"No," Carol giggled and slipped her shirt back on, not even bothering with the bra. "It would be Hershel."

"Even worse," he groaned.

After they were fully dressed, they maneuvered their bodies until they fit semi-comfortably on the seat. Daryl lay with his back to the backs of the seats and Carol lay on her side with her face buried into his chest.

"So, are we okay now, Daryl?"

"Yeah." He kissed the top of her head. "And don't let me do anythin' that stupid, again." It hit him, then, that he could have lost this woman forever. How could he have been so foolish?

"Don't worry." She snuggled deeper into his chest. "I won't."


	29. Chapter Twenty Nine

**Chapter Twenty-Nine**

Someone was knocking on the window above his head and all he wanted to do was cover his ears and block out the noise. From what he could tell, it had just started to get light outside and they still had a few more hours of sleep left. Carol snored softly from her spot still burrowed into his chest.

"Yo, baby brother, get yer ass up for a second!"

Daryl groaned and maneuvered his body in a way he hoped didn't wake up Carol. With one hand, he unrolled the window and glared at his brother. "What?"

Merle just smirked when he saw Carol with him, too. "I see you two made up. 'Bout fuckin' time."

"Is that what ya wanted to say?" Daryl growled. He was two seconds from reaching over and strangling him.

"Naw," he chuckled. "I jus' wanted to tell ya that me and Maggie are goin' to see if we can find some more cars ahead to scavenge. We're runnin' low on food and water."

"A'right." He moved to roll the window back up, so that he could get back to sleep, but Merle stopped him.

"There's a free bed upstairs, if ya want it. It'd be much more comfortable than this."

Carol stirred below him and opened her eyes. "Did I hear there was a free bed?" She sat up to stretch and winced when her back cracked.

"Yeah, me and Maggie are goin' on a little run, so you two can use it until we hafta to leave." Merle spoke to her though the window.

She grabbed Daryl's arm and tugged him towards the opposite door. "Come on, Daryl. I'm still tired and a bed sounds heavenly right now." Daryl moved to follow, then stopped and turned to Merle with narrowed eyes.

"You and Maggie jus' slept in it, right?"

Merle howled with laughter. "Yer in the clear, baby brother." He turned his head and looked over at Maggie, who was waiting for him by his truck. "It ain't like I didn't try, though." He muttered and walked to his wife.

Carol was already halfway to the house before he finally stepped out of the truck. He nodded as he passed T-Dog, who was still on watch. Thankfully, Hershel had been in the back and hadn't seen the couple climb out of his truck in the early morning light.

Everyone was still asleep in the living room, he observed as he walked past it to get to the stairs. Beth now, slept on the couch with Glenn not too far from her on the floor. Shane and Michonne also laid pretty close to one another and Daryl had to wonder of there was anything going there.

"Daryl?" Carol's voice floated down to him from the top of stairs. "Are you coming?"

"Yeah," he answered and took one last look at everyone in the living room before he walked up the stairs to his woman.

* * *

Several hours later, Daryl and Carol still remained in the comfortable bed and listened as everyone else got up. It had felt like they had just gotten to sleep and neither one wanted to get up and face the day.

"I want to stay here forever." Carol's voice was muffled as she pressed her face into Daryl's chest.

"Yeah," Daryl said and rubbed his hand absentmindedly up and down her arm. It was most likely that Rick would want to move on, but the thought of staying here sounded good to Daryl. He was getting tired of always being on the run and he knew that it was weighing on everyone else as well. He didn't envy Rick, though. Fourteen people were a lot of people to take care of and make happy. He never understood why Rick had stepped up as their leader, surely Hershel would have been able to take on the position.

Carol moved away from his body and reluctantly climbed out of bed. "I should probably help Lori and Beth gather stuff together for breakfast. You going to get up soon?"

Daryl just wanted to bury his head under the pillows and never move. All he wanted to do was pull Carol back into the covers and make up for lost time. When was the last time they had done it on a bed? A week? Two? The days all blurred together now.

The covers were suddenly yanked from his body and he curled in on himself reflexively. "Thought ya were givin' me choice to get out of bed or not." He growled and glared back at her.

Carol smiled wickedly and crossed her arms. "Nope. If I had to get up, so do you. It's only fair." The bed sank as she climbed onto the mattress. Daryl turned on his back and watched as she crawled to him. She climbed over his body and leaned down to kiss him. Daryl didn't waste anytime and flipped them, so that he now hovered over her.

Before things could get too heated, though, someone started banging on the door. "Daryl. Carol. Time to get up!" It was Rick. Carol blushed fiercely and climbed out of the bed.

"I knew we should have gone downstairs as soon as we got up. Now, we look lazy!" She quickly ran a hand through her hair, hoping no one would notice what they had been up to. With one last look at Daryl, who was slowly getting out of bed, she opened the door and left the room.

* * *

"All right, everyone, let's start packing up to leave," Rick announced once everyone had finished their breakfasts.

"Why can't we stay here, Rick?" Lori immediately protested. "I think it's a good a place as any,"

Rick looked over at his wife and answered patiently. "We're too crowded here, Lori. We can't exactly have everyone cram themselves into the living room. Tempers would definitely run high very quickly if we did that."

Everyone agreed. They all needed their own space and being on top of one another for long periods of time didn't sit well with them. They were already feeling the effects of that since they had been on the run. Everyone was in everyone's business and no one had any privacy.

"We need to keep moving," Rick continued. "That herd can still be on our trail and I'm sure there is a place for us to finally settle down in. We just have to find it." He seemed very optimistic and Daryl started to feel hope build inside his chest. He had Carol back, his brother was here and he just knew there was somewhere out there they could call home.

* * *

Martinez and Shumpert had been on the road for four days and had yet to find any sign of Milton and Ed.

"I'm thinking that Buck was full of shit when he gave us those directions," Martinez muttered from his spot behind the wheel. His gun wasn't far from him as it laid in the seat between him and Shumpert.

Shumpert grunted his agreement and continued to watch out the window.

"I have a bad feeling. I think we should turn around and head back to Woodbury." Martinez skidded their truck to a stop right in the middle of the road. "I think that Buck and his two croonies are up to something bad and we'll need to be there for Phillip."

"I agree. Turn this fuckin' truck around." Shumpert's deep voice filled the cabin of the truck and he braced himself for the wide turn his partner made.

* * *

It was almost dark when Milton and Ed drove up to another farmhouse. It looked like a smaller version of the Greene farm and it was clear that there had been someone there recently. The grass around the front yard was flattened, like several vehicles had been parked there and there was also may tire tracks.

Ed remained silent as he looked over the yard. His knuckles were white as he gripped the steering wheel and Milton feared that he would lash out at him in his anger. Fortunately, he parked the car, hopped out and made his way to the front door. Milton had no choice but to follow him with a sigh.

"We'll stay here for the night," Ed announced. "Can't fucking follow them in the dark." He walked straight to the living room and plopped on the couch. "You stay here and if you try to escape. I'll kill you."

Milton went to the far wall and slid to the floor. Ed kept his gun close to his side and Milton knew that if he did try to escape, the man would be on his heels instantly and he wouldn't survive. He still had Andrea to go back to. He still had his baby. He just had to stay alive long enough to see them.

* * *

That night, they once again found themselves camping outside and in their vehicles. No one minded, since they were all use to it in fact. They were in the Georgian countryside and the miles between houses were long.

They all were grateful, though, that it was a nice clear night. Storms were common in the summer and they had been lucky not to have to deal with one...yet.

Carol and Daryl sat around the small fire. The rest of their group were sleeping and they had volunteered for first watch. They sat close together and Carol was happy to be this close to Daryl again. She had missed his warmth and strong body.

"What's this?" Daryl asked when his hip bumped against hers and he had felt something hard dig into his side.

"Oh," Carol reached into her pocket and took out the black velvet box. "It's this. I grabbed it before Michonne and I left the farm."

"Ya risked your life for this?" Daryl took the box gently in his hands and opened it. The ring was still inside.

Carol shrugged and didn't look at him.

"Ya know," Daryl said softly. "I never did get an answer from ya." His grin was mischievous when he looked down at her.

"Well, actually, you never asked me. The bastards who tried to take all of us women kind of interrupted you." Carol nudged his shoulder.

"Oh, uh, well, then." He shifted from his seat after a few moments and knelt in front of her. He looked nervous as he handled the box in his hand. "Will ya marry me?"

Carol thought her smile would split her face and she lunged at Daryl, arms circling his neck. "Yes."

"Good." He chuckled and kissed her. "Don't know what I would do if ya said no."

"I would have never said no." She leaned in to kiss him again, but the sound of footfalls approaching the fire had them separating and looking to the intruder.

Hershel stood behind them. "Sorry to interrupt your celebration. Congratulations by the way." He gave them a smile and a wink. "But I have something of Carol's that I need to return. Figured she'd be missing it by now."

Carol's brow furrowed. She didn't remember giving him anything to borrow.

Suddenly, a piece of black clothing sprang into her vision and her face grew a bright shade of red when she recognized what it was. She heard Daryl groan in embarrassment beside her.

Hershel Greene held her bra in his hand.

"Found this peeking out from underneath the driver's seat. Next time you all want to do  _that_  in my truck make sure you don't forget anything afterwards."

"Ain't goin' to be a next time," Daryl mumbled and Carol quickly took the garment from the old man's hand.

"Thank you," she said, unable to look him in the eye. She doubted she'd ever be able to look him in the eye again.

"You two have a fun rest of the night," Hershel called behind him and made his way back to his truck where him and Beth had set up their beds in the bed of it.

"God, I'm so embarrassed," Carol buried her face in Daryl's shoulder. "I can't believe I forgot that in there. You would have thought I would notice it was missing!"

Daryl smirked. "And here I thought ya decided to not wear one anymore because ya love me so much."

Carol rolled her eyes at him and placed her head in her hands. She almost wished a walker would come up and bite her. At least, then, she wouldn't have to worry about facing Hershel ever again.


	30. Chapter Thirty

**Chapter Thirty**

It was day five of being with Ed and Milton could tell the man was getting angrier and angrier every time they were met with a dead end. There had been no sign of the Dixons and Carol since they were at the last farmhouse and Milton felt like they were just running blindly now.

"Fuck this!" Ed suddenly snarled from his spot behind the wheel of what was there third car. He cut the wheel and caused the car to make a sharp U-turn and they began to head back in the direction they had come. "I need to get back to Woodbury. Looks like them Dixons are lucky I haven't found them, yet."

Milton was glad they were finally heading back to Woodbury. He knew Andrea was worried sick about him and he longed to see her face and to know she was doing okay. A sinking feeling in his gut, though, caused him to look over at Ed. "Why do you need to go back to Woodbury?" He was afraid to hear the answer and when Ed turned to him with a smile, he grew terrified.

"Oh, that's right. I haven't told you what Buck and I have planned for your friends back at Woodbury. Ol' Phil won't know what hit him and Andrea-"

Milton lunged at the man beside him, but the seat belt he had strapped on didn't allow him to go far. Ed laughed and watched as he took in deep breaths. "What the  _hell_  do you plan on doing with Andrea?"

Ed continued to laugh. "Buck has had his eye on her since our first day at Woodbury. She is a pretty little thing."

If his hands hadn't been bound, Milton would have reached across the seat and strangled the man.

"Maybe I'll finally be able to fuck her, since she denied me in high school. Is she a good lay?" He looked over at his passenger with a smirk, but didn't get a reply. He shrugged and went back to looking out of the windshield "I guess I'll be finding out soon."

Milton wanted to kill him. He had never wanted to end a human's life before, but the first chance he got he would gladly end Ed Peletier's.

* * *

Carol twirled the ring on her left hand, still not believing that Daryl had asked her to marry him. She knew he loved her, but she didn't think that he would ever propose. Especially now when the world ended and there really was no way to make it official.

"Finally manned up, huh?" She jumped when she heard the raspy voice of the oldest Dixon. Quickly, she dropped her hands to her lap and found Merle towering over her as she sat in one of the lawn chairs spread around the fire. Her breakfast bowl lay forgotten by the leg of the chair.

"I suppose you're talking about Daryl?" She looked up at him and rolled her eyes. Merle was always making fun of his younger brother, but she knew it was to be expected. Merle was the oldest, after all.

"Yep." He smiled and took the empty seat next to her. Beth had been talking to her a few minutes before, but had gotten up to talk with Glenn.

"He was going to ask me a couple days ago, but then those men attacked the farm and that herd blew through. He didn't have a chance to, then."

"Don't forget that little spat ya both had. Ya'll weren't talkin' for a few days."

Carol rolled her eyes at him again. "Thanks for reminding me, Merle. Really."

Merle snorted a chuckle. "Ya know that boy has had that ring for a long time."

"Really?" She looked at him, surprised. Then how long had Daryl been thinking about marrying her?

"When Maggie invited ya both over for dinner that last time, he showed it to me. I suspect he had it for a while, then, too. Told me he was waitin' for the perfect time to ask ya." He laughed and shook his head, then. Like he was remembering some inside joke.

"What are you laughing at?" She asked, curious. They didn't have much to laugh about nowadays and she missed laughing.

"I jus' remembered somethin' I said."

She leaned closer to him when he just sat there with his mouth shut. "Well? Are you going to tell me?"

"Told him that if he kept waitin' for the perfect time to ask ya, the world would end before he did. At the time I didn't think I would be right."

Carol chuckled softly at that. "So, what did you do when you decided that you would ask Maggie to marry you?"

"Well, first of all, her daddy practically forced me to ask her, but I always knew that I would one day. He just set the ball rollin'. I bought the ring and a couple weeks later I took her out to eat at some fancy restaurant and popped the question." He shrugged. "It wasn't that hard."

She didn't look like she believed him. Her eyes narrowed. "You weren't nervous at all? You already knew she'd say yes?"

"Figured since she already had stayed with my ass for five years, what was another fifty more?" Truth was he had been a nervous wreck. He'd never admit it, though. Merle Dixon didn't do nervous and Carol didn't need to know that he almost passed out the night of proposal dinner. No one needed to know that except for him.

"Hm, I see," she said and still didn't look convinced.

"So, how are ya and Daryl goin' to make it official? Ministers ain't exactly a call away anymore."

Carol shrugged. "We really don't have to make a big deal about it. If Daryl says he wants to be married, then we'll be married. No one has to say anything over us or anything. We both know we love each other and I think that's all that matters."

Merle nodded. "Well, jus' let me know and I bet I could get Hershel to say a few words. He still has that bible of his and I bet he'd be willin' to do it."

Carol's face turned a bright red at the mention of Hershel and Merle wondered if there was a story there and if there was, would he be able to get it out of her? In fact, earlier that morning he had watched his brother avoid the old man.

"Thank you, Merle. I'll ask Daryl and I'll let you know what he says. With the way things are, I don't think we should worry about a wedding." She stood up and stretched. "I think we need to focus on surviving long enough so we  _can_  get married someday."

Merle stood up beside her and agreed. The number one thing on everyone's list right now was surviving.

* * *

Daryl returned close to lunch time with a belt full of kills. It took a lot to feed a group of fourteen and that meant he also had to spend more time in the woods to get a good amount of food. Carol didn't like him going out there by himself, but he was quiet and he was fast, so it really was the best and only way. If anyone else went with, then they would most likely scare off all of the game.

He dropped off the string of squirrels near the fire and set on finding Carol before he started skinning them. He always made sure he knew where she was at all times. He knew that it sometimes annoyed her, but if danger ever hit them, then he needed to know where she was so he could get to her first. He wasn't going to lose her again. Especially now since he had finally proposed to her.

"Hey," he called to Merle, who was standing beside his truck talking with T-Dog and Marc. "Ya seen Carol?"

"Yeah, I think she went down to the river to wash some clothes with Rick's wife." Before he could protest her going down there without any protection, Merle continued. "She has her gun. I made sure of it."

Daryl nodded his head in thanks. He was glad to see that he wasn't the only one who looked out for Carol. He returned the favor, though, whenever Merle would have to leave the camp he'd made sure Maggie was all right.

* * *

"Carol, I have to tell you something, but you have to promise to not tell anyone," Lori turned to her suddenly with a serious look on her face. The shirt she had just folded lay crumpled in her lap, now.

"What is it?" She spread out the shirt she had just wrung out on a nearby rock so that it could dry out some. Her friend looked nervous standing there wringing her hands and Carol wanted to give her full attention.

"I'm pregnant."

It was silent until Carol finally spoke. "That's great, Lori." She stood and gave the woman a hug. "Have you told Rick yet?"

"No." Lori sat and put her head in her hands. "He has too much going on right now, with us constantly on the run and I don't want him to worry about me anymore than he already does."

Carol knelt down and placed a hand on her shoulder. "You have to tell him eventually. He deserves to know. He's your husband."

Lori nodded her head. "I know, but I'm going to wait until we find somewhere more permanent. That way it will be easier on him when I tell him."

"Well, your secrets safe with me." She gave the woman another hug. In the few weeks, they had known each other they had become good friends and Carol felt honored that Lori would trust something like this with her.

Noise from the bushes behind her had her standing up quickly and whipping her gun out. Instead of a walker, though, it was Daryl with his arms lifted in surrender.

"That's my girl," he smirked and approached her.

"I could have shot you." Carol huffed and stuffed the gun in the back of her pants. She tried to act angry when Daryl wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head.

"But ya didn't and that's all that matters." He bent down and kissed her on the lips.

"Well, I'm going to bring this basket back up to camp." Lori walked past them with a basket full of wet clothes. "You two have fun." She winked.

Daryl watched her disappear from sight and then looked down at the woman in his arms. "How about we go for a swim?"

Carol laughed and pushed him away half-heartedly. "I think I know why you want to go 'swimming' and unfortunately we don't have time for that right now."

"Why not?" He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her close once again. Burying his face in the crook of her neck, he said. "We could make it quick."

"Tempting," she smiled and thought a moment before she moved to pull her shirt over her head, but they were interrupted when Rick was suddenly yelling down at them.

"Daryl! Carol! Time to go!"

She sighed and patted him gently on the check. "Can I get a rain check, then?"

He smiled and kissed her. "Of course. In fact, I'm going to make sure ya get that rain check as soon as fuckin' possible."

* * *

Milton eyed the gas level skeptically. They had been on the road for a couple hours and the arrow had moved a bit from the F. There was no way that the tank was still full after all the miles they had traveled.

"The hell you looking at, freak?" Ed growled.

Milton shifted his gaze back to the window and didn't say anything. His wrists had grown raw from being constantly tied up and he tried to look for things to distract him from the pain. It was proving to be difficult, since the only thing he could think about was the fact that Buck was still at Woodbury with Andrea. The thought of anything happening to her hurt him worse than his bloody wrists.

"It isn't that long now until we get to Woodbury," Ed spoke. "And I can't fuckin' wait. I'm sick of being with your weird ass."

"You didn't have to kidnap me in the first place," Milton snapped back and it looked like Ed was about to hit him, but the car suddenly sputtered to a stop. Just like he had thought, there was no way the tank was full and from the looks of things, now, it was empty.

"Shit!" Ed cursed and climbed out of the car to check under the hood. The fact that the arrow was still on full after all this time hadn't registered to him.

Milton sat patiently in the passenger's seat as Ed wasted his time trying to figure out what was wrong with the car. Something caught his attention when he looked at the rearview mirror. The blood in his veins froze.

"Uh, Ed?" He called through the open door. "Ed!"

"What?! Can't you fucking see that I'm trying to fix the God damn car!"

Milton opened the door with his bound hands and walked to the front of the car. "There's about twenty or so walkers heading this way, just so you know." He said calmly, even though he was freaking out inside.

"What?" Ed slammed the hood down and looked to where Milton was. "Fuck! We'll have to get out of here!" He ran to the car and grabbed his gun and began to run towards the woods. Milton had no choice but to follow. He ran awkwardly because of his bound hands.

"Wait!" He called and was surprised when Ed stopped. "Untie me!" He was even more surprised when he actually did just that. He didn't have a chance to act on his freedom, though Ed started to run again. He had the only weapon and Milton knew he'd have a better chance of survival if he stuck by him. For now.

"Let's get the fuck out of here!" Ed yelled when he spotted even more walkers heading in their direction. Milton took one last look behind him and ran after Ed. Things weren't looking good for them.


	31. Chapter Thirty One

**Chapter 31**

Carol leaned against Daryl's shoulder while they sat in the back seat of Merle's truck. Merle drove with Maggie sitting beside him and followed Michonne's car, which followed Rick's SUV. They had been on the road for several hours and hadn't even stopped for supper. Instead, they all ate on the road. Rick was really searching for a place to stay and Carol almost wondered if he knew about Lori's pregnancy or at least suspected it.

"So, what were you and Lori talkin' about back there?" Daryl asked and tightened his arm around her waist. He had been slowly dozing off, but when Merle ran over a large pothole, he jerked awake.

"Can't tell you," she said her voice low so that Merle or Maggie couldn't hear. "Promised that I wouldn't tell anyone."

"Is it bad?" Daryl was more awake now.

"No, she just doesn't want anyone to know right now."

"Oh," he leaned his head back and closed his eyes. "She's pregnant, ain't she?"

Carol sat up straight. "Shh!" Maggie turned around at the noise and Carol smiled at the woman. "Sorry." She didn't turn back to Daryl until Maggie was facing the windshield again. "How did you know?"

He shrugged, eyes still closed. "Lucky guess." A smirk broke across his face and he opened one eye to look down at her.

"Well, you better not tell anyone." She glared. "If Lori finds out that you know, then she'll think I told you and she'd get mad at me."

"Don't worry, darlin'," he pulled her close. "My lips are sealed."

"Good." She snuggled back into his chest and closed her eyes. It didn't look like they were stopping anytime soon and it was growing dark. "I don't like being on the run all the time, Daryl."

He sighed. It looked like he wasn't going to get to sleep anytime soon. "Neither do I, but we have to find somewhere safe. Maybe somewhere permanent."

"That would be nice. I'd like to have someplace to call home again." She missed their house. She missed the farmhouse. She missed a nice warm bed to fall asleep in every night and she missed not having to run for their lives.

"Me too," he paused. "And I would like to find a place where I can finally call you my wife."

Carol lifted her head off his chest to cup his cheek and give him a kiss. "I'd like that, too. How about we have Merle say a few words right now and we can make it official."

"You want  _Merle_  to marry us?" He looked at her wide-eyed.

"Hey, I heard my name back there. What are ya'll talkin' about?" Merle looked at them through the rearview mirror. A hint of a smile in his eyes.

"Oh, nothing, Merle," Carol giggled. "I was just telling Daryl that I couldn't wait until you were my brother-in-law."

Daryl snorted a laugh and Merle looked at him with narrowed eyes. "The hell so funny, baby bro? I'll have ya know that I make a great brother."

"Says you," Daryl said under his breath and it sent Carol until another peal of laughter. Maggie watched the exchange with a smile on her face.

Before Merle could say anything more, Michonne's brake lights were on and the small caravan of cars came to a stop. The sun was setting and it painted the sky with hues of red and orange. Carol wondered why they were stopping now. Maybe Rick had decided to stop for the night.

Carol jumped when someone knocked on the driver's window and Merle rolled it down to find Rick and Shane standing there.

"What do ya want?" Merle asked. "We stoppin' for the night, then?"

"Didn't plan on it," Rick said. "But there's a house buried in these woods up here. Spotted the driveway and decided to take a look. Glenn, T-Dog and Marc are taking a look now and they'll let us know if it's worth staying."

"Sounds good." Merle agreed. "But let me and Daryl head up there, too, in case the three of them run into trouble."

Without a word, Daryl climbed out of the truck with Carol close behind him. He reached into the bed of the truck to grab his crossbow and handed Carol her gun. Merle and Maggie were right behind them, but they didn't need to head out because Glenn, T-Dog and Marc returned. Everyone moved to gather around them so they could hear what they had found. Carol hoped it was good news.

Glenn smiled at them. "I think we hit gold here. Well, from the outside it does. It's a freaking mansion...or close to it."

"Enough room for all of us?" Rick asked and glanced over at his wife.

"We think so. Didn't go inside, though. We just cleared some of the walkers that were in the yard. We figured we'd need more people to clear out the house."

"Good idea," Shane said. "Let's rest up in our cars tonight and in the morning, we'll send a team to clear out the place."

Everyone agreed.

"Carol and I will take the first watch," Daryl spoke and looked over at Carol to make sure it was all right with her.

* * *

Milton couldn't run anymore and from the looks of it, neither could Ed. The herd was far behind them now, but it wouldn't take long until they caught up with them, again. It was growing dark and Milton could barely see where Ed was. In fact, he couldn't hear the man's ragged breathing anymore.

"Ed?" He called and stopped to look around him.

There was no response.

"Ed?" He yelled, this time. When he got another no answer, he began to panic. Ed was the only one with a weapon and if they had been separated, then he didn't know what he was going to do.

He needed to find some place to hole up for the night, unless he wanted to become walker chow. Maybe he'd run back into Ed, again. Even though he hated to admit it, but he needed the other man or he didn't know how he was going to survive.

* * *

That morning, the group woke up with the sun and Rick immediately got a group together to clear out the house. It consisted of the all the men, Michonne, and that left the other women back with the vehicles. Carol and Maggie took it upon themselves to be the protectors and stood in the beds of Hershel and Merle's trucks to keep an eye out.

Lori, Sharon and Beth huddled around a fire, cooking up some lunch for when the men came back.

It didn't take them long to clear the house and they all returned back to the vehicles with smiles on their faces. The house was perfect. It was a huge building, but only held four bedrooms, two with their own bathrooms, a large kitchen, living and sitting room. It would fit everyone somewhat comfortable. Some people would still have to sleep on a couch or the floor, but no one complained. As long as they had shelter, then they were fine.

"Got us a room," Daryl whispered into Carol's ear when they climbed out of Merle's truck in front of the house.

"Good," she smiled. "I can't wait until we get to sleep on a bed again."

"Ain't goin' to do much sleepin' tonight, sweetheart." He winked at her and then walked up to his brother and helped bring some of their supplies into the house.

* * *

They had just settled down into their bedroom. It was one of the master bedrooms with their own bathroom. Carol loved the bathtub the most. It was large and could probably fit four or five people at a time.

"I wish we had running water," she sighed as she sat at the edge if the tub. "I'd kill for a nice bubble bath right now."

Daryl came up behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders and massaged them gently. "Maybe once everythin' gets settled down around here, we can boil up some water and haul it up here."

Carol looked back at him. "That would be a lot of work."

He shrugged, placed a kiss on her cheek and bent to pick her up bridal style. "It'd be worth it. Now, how about we make use of that bed."

* * *

It was early morning. Glenn and T-Dog were on watch and both stood in front of the house. Glenn held a machete in his hand, while T-Dog had his handgun.

Luckily, they hadn't hd to use it while they were on watch.

Glenn nearly pissed himself when a raccoon suddenly shot from one of the bushes by the house. It didn't take him long to recover from the surprise and he looked over at his watch partner with a smile.

"Where's Daryl?" He joked and watched the animal scurry away. "We could have had that for breakfast."

"Yum," T-Dog grimaced.

"I wonder if it's better than squirrel."

"Come on, man. Stop." T-Dog began to walk away from the Korean.

"What?" Glenn straightened and looked at his friend. "What's wron-?" They both stopped when they heard a noise, it was much louder than a raccoon. It sounded human...or undead. They both jumped when two men suddenly appeared in the dirt driveway leading up to the house.

A large black man was supporting one of the men, who looked Hispanic. Blood was visible through the man's shirt.

"Is he bit?" T-Dog was the first to find his voice.

"No," The large man answered. "Shot. Can you please help us?"

T-Dog looked at Glenn. "Get Rick." The other man ran to do just that and he looked back at the two men. "What are your names?"

The Hispanic man spoke. "My name's Ceaser Martinez and this is Shumpert."


	32. Chapter Thirty Two

**Chapter 32**

Ed didn't realize he had been running from walkers by himself. No Milton in sight. He didn't know if the other man had been eaten or he just got lost. All he knew was that he was lost in the woods, a herd of walkers not far from him and a gun that only held two bullets.

Ed Peletier got the feeling that he was screwed.

He was in the middle of the woods, nearly weaponless and he had no idea where to go. Buck needed him back at Woodbury soon. Especially with the plan of taking it over was getting closer and closer to happening.

Sounds of voices just up ahead had him running blindly through the trees. Maybe whoever was up there knew where they were. Before he burst through the underbrush, he made sure to have his gun up and ready, just in case whoever was up there wasn't friendly.

He didn't know who was more surprised when he jumped through the small barrier leading to a road, him or the two men chatting underneath the hood of a steaming truck. The sound of something approaching them had the large black man whipping out a pistol and aiming it Ed.

Ed returned the favor, but his eyes widened in shock when he recognized the two men. It was Martinez and Shumpert. He remembered them from the run he had gone on with Milton. He also remembered that they were the Governor's bitches and he didn't particularly like them.

He had two bullets in his gun and he was a good shot. He could kill them, steal their truck and drive back to Woodbury. That would also mean two less able-bodied men to oppose Buck and his crew.

"That's fucking Ed!" Martinez yelled and before Shumpert could get a shot off, Ed fired and ducked for the bushes. The Hispanic man went down; blood blossomed on the side of his shirt. The larger man went to his friend, instead of going after Ed.

Ed took the opportunity to go for the truck. He hoped that the two men had fixed the truck and hopped behind the driver's seat. The surroundings looked familiar, now, and he was glad to find that they weren't that far from Woodbury. Ten miles at the most.

The truck started with a roar and he realized, too late, that the hood was still up and he couldn't see a thing, but he wasn't going to risk Shumpert getting up and firing at him. So, he backed the truck up, hoping the motion would jerk the hood down. It did and without another glance at the two men, he was off racing back to Woodbury.

* * *

Shumpert looked down at his bleeding friend. Luckily, the bullet hadn't hit anything important, well as far as he could tell. It also looked like it had passed right through, which was another blessing.

Pressing slightly on the wood to stop the bleeding, he gave his friend a half smile. "Well, it looks like you're going to live, but we should probably get back to Woodbury quick."

"Yeah," Martinez grunted and struggled to stand. "That would probably be a good idea. Can't believe that Ed got the jump on us, though, and took the truck. We had just gotten it fixed, too."

"Shit happens."

"I guess," he wrapped an arm around Shumpert's shoulders and together the pair made their slow trek back to Woodbury.

* * *

Phillip Blake had a bad feeling when Buck asked to speak with him. Ed and Milton had been missing for a week, Andrea had been an emotional mess, partly due to the baby, and there seemed to be a feel of unrest in the town of Woodbury.

Tomas and Andrew had been seen more and more around town and they hadn't been playing nice. Jeering at the women and fighting with whomever they were able to rile up. Phillip wanted to throw them out, but that would be a death sentence for them and that was something he didn't want on his conscience.

"Where are you going?" Andrea asked from the doorway of his room when he walked by. She had moved into the room next to his so that he could better keep on eye on her. Luckily, Buck and his crew hadn't bothered her.

"Buck wishes to speak with me," he said.

Andrea gave him a worried look and Phillip patted the knife at his hip and pulled out a gun from his back. "I should be fine."

She looked satisfied to see him armed. "All right, then. Still be careful. That man is up to something and I know that you know it, too."

"I'll be careful." He gave her one last smile and made his way to Buck's apartments. The uneasy feeling in his gut didn't go away and the moment he opened the door to Buck's place, he knew he shouldn't have.

Something hard smashed into his head and everything went black.

* * *

Buck Dixon stood over Phillip Blake's limp form with a triumphant smile. In his hands, he held up a set of keys that would allow him, Tomas and Andrew to get into the armory. Phase one of their plan was over and now, they could get on with their takeover.

Buck stayed behind with Big Tiny, who hadn't said one word while the whole thing went on and Tomas and Andrew went to get the weapons. He had to tie up Phillip. He was going to keep the man alive...for now. Somehow, he had to be useful and if he wasn't, there would surely be a couple hungry biters outside of the walls to feed him to.

Then there was that pretty blonde woman he had been hanging around with lately. There was a noticeably belly bump on her, but he knew she could still be useful in the bedroom. After all, it had been a long time since he had gotten some.

* * *

Even though, Andrea had seen that Phillip had been well armed she had decided to follow him to make sure he would be all right. She had been down the hall when he had knocked on Buck's door and close enough to hear the sound of a body hitting the floor.

Then, Andrew and Tomas had raced past where she stood hidden. They looked to be on a mission. Instead of going to Buck's room, she decided to follow the two men to see what they were up, too.

What she saw, she didn't like.

The two men led her to a building in the back of Woodbury and to a room that had a man standing outside of it. With a gasp, she watched Andrew grab the man and held him as Tomas took out a knife hidden in his boot and stabbed him.

She needed to get out of there because she knew they wouldn't hesitate to kill her, too. She had the baby to think about, but she had to see what was in that room they so desperately wanted to get into.

They immerged several minutes later, heavily armed. Guns were strapped to their backs, their hips and held in their hands. Andrea felt dread for the citizens of Woodbury, whatever Buck had planned wouldn't be good for any of them.

Weighted down with all the weapons, they moved slower than they had been earlier and soon, had left the building. Andrea stayed behind and walked to the room. The guard's lifeless eyes looked up at her as she paused and she had look away for fear of vomiting. The two men hadn't cleared the room and she grabbed the first gun she saw and moved to use it on the guard's head before he turned.

She didn't know what else to do, though. She was just one woman with one gun. She couldn't stop the men, no matter how much she wanted to. There was the idea of leaving Woodbury to get help, but she didn't even know where to start. Milton was still out there, she felt it, but didn't even know where to begin to look.

So, making up her mind, she stashed the pistol in the back of her pants, grabbed two knives to hide in each of her boots and a handful of bullets. She would stay here and she would fight if she had to.

* * *

Shumpert and Martinez had stumbled along the road for several hours, rested for a few, and as the sun began to creep above the horizon, they were on the move again. Martinez grew weaker as the makeshift bandage around his wood grew redder.

Shumpert knew he needed to find help for his friend or he would be returning to Woodbury alone. When they came across a dirt driveway that had evidence of a recent vehicle driving on it, he knew he had to take the risk of finding other people and hoping they were good people.

Luckily, they had happened across a Rick Grimes and his group and they had immediately set to work on Martinez. There was a veterinarian-turned-doctor in their midst and he thanked God for leading him there.

The women had made him a meal and his empty stomach rejoiced. The world needed more people like them, especially now.

* * *

Milton was going to die. He could feel it. His feet ached, his stomach rumbled and the sun was giving him a nasty sunburn, but he knew he couldn't give up. Not until he reached Woodbury and Andrea.

He had been separated from Ed almost a full day now and he had hoped the other man had been munched on. Ed Peletier was the reason he was out here and away from Andrea and his baby. The man could go to Hell.

Now, he didn't even know if he was going in the right direction. For all he knew, he could be somewhere in Alabama. No signs of life had been found anywhere and no cars to ransack for food. He had no weapon and so far, there hadn't been any walkers.

Sniffing the air, he thought he could smell the faint scent of smoke. Was there someone up ahead burning something? Real people? With that thought, he quickened his steps. Maybe they had food, maybe they had a vehicle and a weapon he could use.

Maybe-

His thoughts were cut short when some kind of  _sword_  was suddenly being pointed at his face.

 


	33. Chapter Thirty Three

**Chapter 33**

Carol had just returned back to the room she and Daryl shared to find him still sleeping. The noise from downstairs had alerted them, but when Maggie had knocked on the door asking for Carol, Daryl had been told to stay in bed.

Two men had been led into the farmhouse, one was injured and the other one supported him. Hershel quickly cleared a table and motioned to let the man lay on it.

"Thought you might want to see how to stitch up a wound," Maggie whispered to Carol as they watched the sight before them. Hershel worked on the injured man while his friend hovered nearby. Rick stood in the doorway, arms crossed and Glenn and T-Dog hovered by the windows, still keeping on eye on things.

"Yeah," Carol said. "Knowing Daryl, I'll probably have to stitch him up a few times." The woman fell silent and watched the patriarch of the Greene family work.

"How did this happen?" Rick asked from his spot by the door. The man on the table was clutching his mouth shut in pain as Hershel stitched, so that left the big man to speak.

"Got shot while we were out fixing our truck." The man had an extremely deep voice and Carol thought it fit his body perfectly. "We knew him, too. Use to live with us back at Woodbury."

Rick's ears seemed to perk up at the name. "What's Woodbury? Your camp?"

"Yeah, 'cept it's more like a town. Bout fifty or so of us, most of them women and children, though."

"Why would one of your own shoot you?" Rick asked.

"He was new; he and four other men had just been allowed into Woodbury a couple days before. Didn't like the looks of them, but the Governor wanted to give them a chance."

"He was an arrogant prick," the man on the table bit out. "Should have shot ol' Ed in the fuckin' face back on the run." He hissed when Hershel dug the needle back in his side.

The name had Carol locked into her spot. Did the man just say Ed? Sure, there had to be ton of men out there with that name, but the one he was describing sounded like Ed Peletier. Maggie's gaze shifted to her and from the looks of it, the older Greene girl had been thinking the same thing.

"Excuse me," she stepped forward and bit her lip. "You wouldn't be talking about an Ed Peletier...would you?"

Both men's focus was immediately on her and that was enough of an answer.

"You know him?" The large black man asked.

Carol nodded. "Unfortunately. However, I have not seen him in...five years. We went to high school together."

"Has he always been such an asshole?" The man on the table asked.

"Pretty much," Carol answered.

Suddenly there was a commotion coming from the kitchen, where the back door was located and Shane burst through.

"Rick we got another one."

Before Carol could even begin to wonder what that meant, Michonne was leading a man inside. It only took her several seconds but she finally recognized whom it was.

"Milton!" She cried and rushed over to her long lost friend. Rick, Shane and Michonne all stepped back as they embraced.

* * *

That night, Woodbury was thrown into chaos. Buck and his three men had finally put all the stolen weapons into good use. Some of the men, instead of surrendering choose to join Buck. They had been the more unsavory citizens of Woodbury and had readily agreed to have some control.

With a laugh, Buck was more than happy to pass his guns out to them. What had started out as three men, quickly expanded to eight and they were all heavily armed.

* * *

Andrea watched everything unfold from her window. Oscar and Axel hovered behind her and watched the scene play out before them. Andrea had handed them each a knife, cursing herself for not thinking to grab a gun for each of them.

"Buck is gonna have us killed!" Axel said eyes wide in fear.

"Not if you two stay in here, like I said." Andrea turned to them. "If anyone comes looking in here...I'll shoot them." The idea of shooting a human frightened her, but she knew that fear would be the quickest thing to get her killed in this world.

"Are you sure you'd be able to do it?" Oscar questioned, his eyes glancing down at the small bump of her midsection.

"Yes!" She snapped and instantly regretted it. "Sorry."

"It's okay," Axel reassured. "We understand what you're going through and not to pressure you or anything, but do you have a plan?"

"On stopping Buck and his gang?"

Both ex-convicts nodded.

"No, but maybe we can think of one."

* * *

Daryl hadn't been able to stay in bed much longer since Carol left and it sounded like something exciting was going on downstairs. Merle walked out of his room at the same time and together, the two walked down the stairs.

"What the hell is going on?" Merle asked when he saw Hershel working on a man he had never seen before and the rest of the group gathered in the kitchen.

"Daryl!" Carol's happy face popped up between Maggie and Beth. "Merle, both of you get over here. Look who Michonne and Shane found!" The rest of the group parted and the brothers looked surprised when Milton was revealed to them.

Merle was the first to react by walking forward and gathering his friend up in a hug. "Fuck, Milty, I thought you were dead!" Everyone, except Carol, Maggie and Daryl, were shocked at the hug, but Milton had been one of Merle's first friends.

"Well, I'm glad I'm not," Milton gave him a shaky smile and stepped back from the embrace, only slightly weirded out.

"Where's Andrea?" Daryl asked then suddenly realizing that was something he shouldn't have just blurted out. Rick had done the same to him back when he had thought Carol had been killed.

"She's safe, for now, I think." Milton answered.

"Where's that?" Carol asked. "Maybe Daryl and Merle can bring her back here?"

"She's in Woodbury," a big black man said from behind them. They quickly found out his name was Shumpert and his buddy, Martinez. "It's a town a couple mile from here." His gaze locked on Carol's. "That's where Ed was heading."

"Ed?" Daryl's head whirled around to face Carol. "Ed's still alive?" Carol nodded with a frown and he groaned. "Thought his ass would have gotten killed by now."

A grunt from the table and the man Hershel had been working slowly began to sit up. "If I get my way, he'll get killed soon enough. The bastard shot me," he said, explaining to the two newcomers.

"We have to get to Woodbury," Milton said. "Ed told me that him and..." he paused and looked over at the two Dixon brothers. Both men caught on to the hesitation.

"Ed and?" Daryl prompted.

"Buck."

Merle and Daryl froze. Five years had passed since they had last seen their father and with the start of the apocalypse, they had thought they'd never see him again. But it looked like he was still out there causing trouble.

"He has a group with them," Milton continued. "They plan on taking over Woodbury and Andrea is still there. We have to go back and stop them."

"How many men do you think he'll have?" Rick stepped up.

Milton looked over at Shumpert and Martinez, who shrugged. "They were a group of five when they first came here and who knows who else they have corralled into their plan."

"So, three men, one who's injured, plan on taking them all down? Do either one of you have any weapons?"

"No," Shumpert said. "We had two rifles in our truck, but Ed stole it."

"You'll need more men," Rick said and Lori gasped behind him. "How big is this town? Because if we help you eliminate these threats, I want a place for my family and group to stay."

Martinez nodded. "We have room for everyone or we will once we get rid of Buck and his men."

"Fine, it's settled, then. We have plenty of weapons, so we'll help," Rick turned to the rest of his group. "Who's with me?"

Merle and Daryl were the first to volunteer, then Shane, Glenn, Marc, T-Dog and Michonne. Carol and Maggie wanted to come with, but were told by Daryl and Merle that they were needed to stay behind to protect the rest of the group. They didn't like that they had to miss out on the fighting, but at least they wouldn't be completely useless.

"We'll leave in a few hours, but let's all go in the living room and make a plan. We can't run in there blind."

Carol, Maggie, Sharon and Beth all stayed behind as the rest of the group walked into the living room. They were all worried about everyone was going, but Carol had faith that they would be able to take out the threats and save Woodbury.

 


	34. Chapter Thirty-Four

**Chapter 34**

Luckily, for Ed, it had only taken another forty-five minutes to get back to Woodbury. The stolen truck barely made it to the front gates before it sputtered and died, smoking circling from the hood again. Whatever Martinez and Shumpert had done to fix the engine, obviously hadn't worked out well. Yet, it had gotten him to Woodbury, so Ed couldn't complain, much.

Climbing out of the truck, Ed reached behind the seat to grab the shotgun that only held one bullet.

"Well, look who finally made it back?" Ed glanced up to see Andrew and a Woodbury man standing guard on the barrier, each with rifles clutches loosely in their hands. Buck's plan must have worked.

"Ran into a little trouble," Ed answered with a forced smile.

"Did you take care of that geek with the glasses?" Andrew asked.

Ed didn't know what had happened to Milton, but he figured he was as good as dead by now. "Yeah. I also ran into Martinez and Shumpert. Took care of them, too, and stole their truck." He didn't tell them that he had only shot one of the men.

A smile appeared on Andrew's face and elbowed the man next to him. "Let him in," he ordered. The other man hopped off the barricade and door was opened for Ed.

Ed instantly felt safe the moment he walked into Woodbury. Being on the run with Milton with nothing but a shotgun hadn't been fun. His life had constantly been in danger and when that herd appeared out of nowhere, Ed had actually thought he was a goner. He would have gladly sacrificed Milton to the hungry walkers, but the two had been separated and Ed had been on his own.

Andrew hopped down from his post just as another man replaced him and stood in front of Ed. "Buck will want to know you're here. He's taken the Governor's old room as his now." It had been fitting for the old governor's home but given over to the new one.

As they walked, Ed noticed that the streets were deserted. No one was walking around enjoying the beautiful Georgia day. The 'cafes' were empty; the sections of grass were voided of playing children. Women weren't clustered together, exchanging gossip and men weren't boastfully laughing with one another.

"Since the take over, many people stay inside their homes, now," Andrew explained, noticing the confused look Ed had as he looked around. "A lot of them don't like the fact they're under new management, but they can't do anything about it." Andrew barked out a laugh and Ed joined him.

"So, were officially in charge, then?" Ed asked, already knowing the answer, but wanting to hear the words himself.

"Yeah, we're in charge."

Ed sneered. "Good." Being in charge felt great. The people of Woodbury would have no choice but to do as their leaders said. Buck was a ruthless man and wouldn't hesitate to eliminate anyone who defied him.

"Of course, there is one thing bad about no one leaving their places," Andrew continued the conversation.

"What's that?" Ed asked, only half interested.

"Haven't seen any good-looking ladies in awhile," the other man laughed. "I haven't been laid since I was sent to prison, which was two years ago."

 _Speaking of woman_ , Ed thought.  _Where is Andrea?_  His eyes glanced at the windows of each building as they passed and saw, to his disappointment, each had their curtains drawn. Maybe after talking with Buck, he'd find Andrea and tell her the sad news about her boyfriend.

"Well, we're here," Andrew announced, stopping in front of a small building. It looked to be only one story and the curtains in the windows were wide open. Buck Dixon had no reason to hide. Not in  _his_ town.

"I'm going to go tell Big Tiny it's his watch on the east gate. Ain't nothing back there but woods, but his aim with a gun is shit and he's not good for anything else, so Buck just has him stand there by himself." Andrew explained.

Ed nodded. Big Tiny, despite half his name, was not tiny at all. Buck had been excited to have such a large man join him during their flight from the prison, but the man turned out to be the opposite of whatever one expected. He was a gentle giant and the only reason why he was in jail was because he was in the same car as his brother, who had just robbed a convenience store. The man was soft spoken, hated confrontations and couldn't shoot a gun worth shit. The only advantage he had given to the group was his size and strength. Most of the camps they ambushed would surrender the moment Big Tiny would make an appearance.

"I'll see you around, then." Without waiting for a response, Andrew was off running. Ed watched him go for a moment and knocked on the door. Just bursting through the door would probably not be a good thing and Ed didn't want Buck to get pissed at him. Especially, if he still wanted to be second-in-command.

"Come in!" A rough voice growled and Ed took a deep breath before opening the wooden door and stepping inside.

Looking around the room, Ed saw that it was nicely lit due to the open windows, but in a far corner of the room, Buck sat in shadows. A large, leather armchair was his chair and in one hand, he held a bottle of whisky. An automatic rifle leaned against one of the chair's arms and a handgun was securely tucked into his belt. If someone had burst through the door, Ed didn't doubt for a second Buck would have shot them. Friend or foe.

"About damn time you got here!" Half-drunk, Buck lurched himself from the chair and stumbled slightly. "Good thing it was fuckin' easy to take over this shithole or your ass wouldn't have been welcomed back."

"Sorry," Ed gulped; hoping that in his semi-inebriated state Buck wouldn't kill him. "Ran into some trouble. Nearly got killed by a herd of walkers and then I ran into Martinez and Shumpert up the road a ways. Took care of them, though." He was quick to add. Ed needed to make himself look as good as possible in front of the man.

Buck's mouth spread into a grin that could only be described as evil. "Good. We still have that Phillip guy alive, though barely. Still not sure what I want to be done with him."

"Why not just kill him?" Ed suggested with a shrug. "He's not useful and if we sent him free, then who knows if he'd run into other people and come back."

"Ya don't have to worry about him gettin' set free. Phillip Blake is as good as dead. I jus' want to have a little fun with him." Buck propped the whiskey bottle to his lips and took a long swallow.

"What about Andrea? You seen here around?"

"The blonde woman? Naw, ain't seen much of anyone since we've taken over, but I've been thinkin' of conductin' a little raid. She'll turn up, then, and the first thing I'm goin' to do is have a go with her. Been awhile since I've had a woman," Buck chuckled and took another sip of whiskey. He was quickly on his way of becoming fully drunk. "Maybe once I'm done with her, I'll let you have a turn."

Ed couldn't help but smile at that. Long ago, he had once started a rumor that he and Andrea had sex. Maybe that would finally become true. The one he really wanted, though, was Carol. She had eluded and embarrassed him in high school when she had chosen that damn redneck over him. If she was still alive out there, he would find her and make her regret rejecting him all those years ago. He'd make damn sure.

* * *

The men of the group, plus Michonne, Milton, Shumpert and Martinez, gathered in the Greene's living room and every chair was occupied. Daryl and Merle opted to stand by each other and lean against the wall. In the center of the room, stood Rick, taking his leadership role seriously.

"From what Milton has told us, Buck is a ruthless man to deal with," Rick began. Merle and Daryl winced at the mention of their father's name and wondered if Rick knew this was the same Buck Dixon his own father had arrested many times several years ago.

"If we go in there," Milton spoke up, looking slightly nervous as being the center of attention. "He won't let us get away alive." He cleared his throat. "What I'm saying is, Buck will be out to kill and he will do it, the moment he gets you in his sights." Milton looked over at the Dixon brothers, who nodded in agreement.

"And we have no idea how many men Buck really has," Martinez said from his spot on the couch. "Woodbury has over seventy residents and any one of them could have decided to join up with Buck and his men."

"Well, there are eleven of us. With the guns, Merle and Daryl had and the two between Shane and I, everyone will be able to have a weapon. Ammo, on the other hand, will have to be spread pretty thin. Knives and other blunt objects will be a nice thing to have. We don't need to shoot, if we don't have, too."

"All right, now that that's settled, Officer Friendly, let's talk about how we're going to get inside," Merle pushed off the wall and said.

"There's four points of entry," said Shumpert. "Two of them have doors that can be forced open, but the other two are mainly just used as lookouts and we'd have to climb the wall to get in."

"Buck will have guards posted on them, especially the north and south entrances," Martinez spoke, wincing when he sat up straighter. "The other two might have less man or less experienced men."

Rick nodded at the new information. "Then, let's aim to go to those first. Take out the men posted there."

"How will we do that?" Michonne asked. She had remained silent during the whole briefing. "If we fire our guns, then the whole town will be on us in seconds."

The room grew silent.

"What if we had someone go on the inside?" Everyone looked to who had spoken, which had been Glenn.

"So, we'll just have someone waltz up to the front door and ask to be let in?" Rick asked.

"It could work," Martinez said with a thoughtful look. "Buck may want more men to add to his group or women." He looked straight at Michonne.

"All right. Let's say we do this," Rick began. "Who would be willing to put their life at risk?"

Merle and Daryl couldn't do it. Buck was their father and would recognize them immediately. Milton, Martinez and Shumpert would most likely be killed on sight.

"I'll do it," Michonne volunteered. "I've never met this Buck person and he wouldn't know me from Eve."

Rick didn't waste time. "All right, then. Michonne will go to Woodbury and make a way for us to get inside and from there; we look for Buck and his men and take them out." The plan sounded simple, but everyone knew that it wouldn't be.

"How will we know when it's all right to break in?" Daryl asked.

"Give me a day," Michonne said with confidence.

"One day is all you'll get," Rick said. "If you're any later than that we'll have to assume the worse and think up another plan."

"I don't like that's she's going alone," Shane had been oddly silent through the whole discussion.

"Aw, worried about your girlfriend, Walsh?" Merle smirked.

Shane glared. "No, but she is apart of this group and we're basically handing her over to the enemy. She could get killed."

"Don't worry," Michonne said. "I can handle myself." Everyone in the room knew that to be true, even though they hadn't known the woman very long. Michonne had proven time and time again, while they were on the road that she could take care of herself and really had no use for a group.

"Fine," Shane agreed reluctantly.

"Okay, everyone," Rick addressed the men and Michonne. "We'll start the plan tomorrow. For now, get lots of rest." With the last words, they were all dismissed.

* * *

Lori, Sharon, Beth and Hershel all sat around the kitchen table and talked quietly. Maggie and Carol had slipped out the front door and stood together on the front porch.

"Do you think they'll be able to do it? Take back Woodbury, I mean?" Maggie asked, while she gazed out into the yard.

"I think they can," Carol answered. "I'm still going to worry, though." She laughed lightly to herself. "It's my job."

"I'm afraid that Merle is going to go in with guns blazing and get himself killed. It  _is_  his father after all, and you know just as well as me, how much our men hate that man."

"I know," Carol spoke softly. She had the same worry about Daryl. Buck Dixon wasn't a man worth getting killed over. No one was.

The two women grew silent and listened to the soft chirping of the birds and crickets. The sun was high in the sky and it would be almost time to start dinner.

"So, how do you feel about possibly living in Woodbury?" Maggie broke the silence and saddled up closer to her friend, who sat on the railing with her feet swinging back and forth.

"To be honest," Carol began. "I don't want to go. I know it's going to be safer than out here, but being shut in with seventy other people makes me shudder. Daryl and I won't have our own space and I  _know_  Daryl won't like it, either."

"I agree. Something tells me, Merle won't want to go, either. You won't see me complaining, though." Maggie elbowed Carol gently. "Us Dixons need to stay together."

"I'm not a Dixon, yet." Carol twirled the ring on her finger. Maybe after Woodbury, she and Daryl could finally get married...or whatever it was now.

"Honey, you've been a Dixon since you and Daryl got together. Even back then, I knew you and Daryl would be together forever."

"Our relationship got a bit rocky a few weeks ago."

"The apocalypse will do that to a relationship," Maggie quipped.

Carol sighed, her mind going to much darker thoughts. "I just hope this whole Woodbury thing is over fast and everyone we care about comes out alive."

Maggie's face darkened along with Carol's. "Me, too." The men they loved would be risking their lives and they wouldn't be able to do anything about it.


	35. Chapter Thirty-Five

**Chapter 35**

Dinner was a quiet affair. The plan to take back Woodbury weighed heavily on every one's mind. Shane still wasn't happy about the plan, knowing that Michonne would be putting herself at risk when she showed up at Woodbury's gates.

Daryl and Merle both itched to just burst into the town, find Buck and end the man's horrible existence. Killing their father had never crossed the Dixon's minds before. They hated the man, sure, but he was still family. Still blood. Yet, they all knew the length's Buck Dixon would go to remain in power at Woodbury and they couldn't chance it.

Michonne was the first to finish her meal and she picked up the empty plate in front of her to place in the sink to be washed. Shane watched her every move and even the most oblivious person in the group could tell that the man had feelings for the warrior woman.

"Isn't it cute?" Carol heard Beth, who sat next to her, whisper to Glenn. Carol smiled at the two and elbowed Daryl gently in the ribs.

Daryl peered past Carol and looked at the youngest Greene girl and the Korean. He had also just witness the thing between Shane and Michonne. "It's like a damn romance novel," he muttered so only Carol could hear.

"Stop," she giggled behind hand and reached for a fork to finish her meal. More and more people were finishing their meals and leaving the table.

"Daddy?" Beth had walked up to her father, who was still sitting at the head of the table. "Glenn asked me if I could keep him company on watch, tonight. Can I?"

"Sure, darling, but you better tell Glenn that I'm sleeping right there in the living room and can look out the window at any moment." The old man's face was stern, but Carol could see his eyes dancing.

Beth rolled her eyes, thanked and kissed Hershel's cheek before skipping off to tell Glenn the good news. Merle smirked and stood up.

"I'm goin' to give Short Round a little somethin' for later." Before he could leave, Maggie grabbed him by the arm.

"I swear, Merle Dixon," she whispered fiercely in his ear. Daryl and Carol leaned closer to the couple to hear better. "If you're giving that boy a box of condoms I will cut you off for a month!" Merle sat back down with a huff.

This time Carol didn't try to hide her laughter and Daryl joined in. Merle faced his brother and punched him the arm. Daryl just rubbed the sore spot and continued to laugh.

Hershel watched the two couples in amusement. Oh, to be young again. Standing up, he bid them a good evening and left the room.

* * *

Michonne knew that Shane would follow her outside, which was the reason she had left the house. There were too many people in the house and she really wanted to have this conversation away from everyone.

She leaned on the railing, staring out at the vast backyard. Shane was at her side in seconds and together, they watched the sun slowly sink down past the horizon. Before the apocalypse, Michonne would have thought this to be romantic. Now, it was just another thing to worry about. The sun was going down, it would be dark and there were walkers out there that could appear out of nowhere in the inky darkness.

"Out with it," she said, not wanting to waste any time.

Shane sighed. "Are you sure you want to do this? All you have to do is say the word and we'll think of another plan."

"I wouldn't have brought it up if I wasn't willing to do it. We need an inside man and I'm the only one for the job." Michonne faced him and propped a hand on her hip.

Shane ran a hand through his hair and was about to say something, but then shut his mouth. Michonne rolled her eyes.

"Didn't take you for chicken shit." She smiled.

"What?" He started.

Michonne didn't say another word. Instead, she tugged Shane close and kissed him.

* * *

"Let's head to bed," Daryl leaned close and whispered. Most of the group had gathered in the living room to talk with one another. The room was lit softly by a few candle placed on tables. It was growing late, though and they all had to get up early the next morning to put their Woodbury plan in motion.

Carol nodded and followed him when he stood. Everyone bid them goodnight and Carol flicked on a flashlight she found on a table.

"Come on, darlin'." Daryl waited at the bottom of the stairs and wrapped an arm around her waist when she got near. He placed a kiss on her shoulder and Carol knew that they would be doing more than just sleeping in their room tonight.

Carol let Daryl gently lead her up the stairs to their bedroom. All thoughts of going straight to sleep went out the window the moment Daryl lifted and gently placed her body on the bed. No words were spoken as he slowly crawled on top and began to kiss her neck. Carol's arms wound around his neck and pulled him closer. She tried to not to think about the fact that this could be the last time they'd be together.

Tomorrow, Daryl, Rick, Merle, and Shane would go along with Michonne on her trip to Woodbury. The four men would make camp less than a mile away and Michonne would walk the rest of the way to the town. They would be close enough to hear the sound of gunshots and they'd immediately be on the run to Woodbury just in case things went south.

Michonne would be in Woodbury for a day, hopefully enough time to take care of one of the men kept on watch on the east end. At nightfall, Rick and company would meet up with Shumpert, Milton, T-Dog, Glenn and Marc in the woods near the east end. Martinez would remain behind because of his injury, something he hadn't been too happy about.

Many things could go wrong with the plan, Carol knew and Daryl could be killed. The thought caused her breath to hitch and she nearly crushed Daryl to her chest.

"What's wrong?" Daryl supported himself on his forearms and his blue eyes were filled with concern when he saw the worry in Carol's.

"I'm thinking about tomorrow," she admitted. "Things could go wrong, Daryl. You could get shot or bit. I could  _lose_  you." Her tone was bordering on hysterics and Daryl rolled off her body and gathered her close.

"It'll be fine," he whispered into her hair. "We'll be careful and I'll back for you before you know it."

The words didn't reassure Carol and she continued to cling with him. She wondered if Maggie would be having a similar conversation with Merle, tonight.

"Let me go with you," she mumbled into the rough material of his sleeveless shirt. "I won't get in the way.  _Please_ , Daryl."

"No," Daryl said immediately. "My pa and Ed are there, Carol. If they see you, I know they'll do whatever it takes to get a hold of you. I can't have that. 'Specially after already thinkin' you've been killed, twice. You have to stay here, a'right?"

Carol didn't like the idea and was sick of constantly being told to stay behind. Lori, Beth and her stepmother didn't mind being left behind, but Carol knew that she and Maggie hated it. They hadn't been taught to shoot a gun or fight to not use it at all.

Daryl sighed. "I know this isn't makin' you happy, darlin', but can we jus' stop talkin' about it and let me make love to you?"

Carol had already known how the conversation would go and yet, she still had felt the need to bring it up with him. But right now, making love to the man she loved with all her heart sounded so good.

"Okay." She slipped a hand up into his hair, which was starting to grow long, and pulled him into a searing kiss. Daryl hadn't been prepared for it, but was soon responding eagerly.

"Wish we had runnin' water," he said as he made her lay down on her back. Crawling back over her, he whispered, "Because I'd have you in that big ass tub, too."

Carol blushed and started to unbutton his shirt. "Maybe once you get back, we can heat up some water in the fireplace and just have a day off from everything." Her shirt was quickly shed and Daryl's calloused fingers were already working on the clasp to her bra.

"Hmm, sounds good." Several seconds later, cool air hit Carol's chest and her bra was set falling to the floor to join her shirt. His mouth descended on one of her breasts while the hand went to the other. Carol momentarily forgot how to unbutton a shirt.

"Daryl," she finally managed to gasp. "Let me get your shirt off."

Daryl gently swatted her hands away from his shirt and began to unzip her pants. "Not yet. This is goin' to be about you, first." Carol's jeans slid down her thighs at an agonizingly slow pace and her panties followed soon after. Moving down further on the bed, Daryl remained fully dressed as he trailed a hand up her leg.

Stopping at her calf, he placed a kiss on the inside of her knee and continued to trail kisses until he was at the junction of her legs. Carol's breath was coming out in fast pants and she could only watch as Daryl lowered his head to the place between her legs. At the first touch of his tongue, Carol clutched the sheets in her fists and struggled not to cry out. It only took a few minutes and then, she was a quivering mess.

Daryl shrugged off his half unbutton shirt, pulled off his pants and boxers before crawling back on top of her. Despite the fact she was still recovering from the intense pleasure Daryl had just given her, Carol's legs wound around his waist like they had a mind of their own.

"How was that, sweetheart?" He asked before sucking her earlobe into his mouth and then trailed kisses down her jaw.

"Incredible." It was the first and only word Carol could think of in that moment.

"It's about to get better." Then he was filling her and crushing his lips to hers to muffle her cries of pleasure.

There was no way in hell Daryl was going to die tomorrow. There was no way she could go on with the rest of her life without feeling this way, again.

"I love you, so much, Daryl," she whispered as they lay together afterwards. Sweat still cooled on their skin and Daryl pulled her close to his chest and buried his face in her auburn curls.

"I love you, too, Carol."

Carol could never get tired of hearing those words come from his mouth and continued to lie awake after Daryl had fallen asleep. She had wished there had been time for someone to 'marry' them before the trek to Woodbury. It would have been nice to see Daryl off as his wife before they went on this dangerous mission.

Deep down she knew it would be okay because since the first time Daryl had kissed her, so long ago, Carol had begun to consider herself a Dixon.

* * *

Merle came to the bedroom he and Maggie shared with a big smile on his face. Maggie set down a worn paperback on the bedside table and rolled her eyes. "What's got you so happy?"

Merle shed his shirt and pants before crawling under the covers to gather his wife close. "Jus' took a peek outside that front window and I saw Glenn and your sister makin' out."

"What?" Maggie tried to hop out of bed, but Merle's strong arms stopped her.

"Whoa, woman. There was nothin' rated R about it. Don't worry you ain't goin' to be havin' little nieces or nephews runnin' around, too." Maggie pouted and Merle just chuckled. "Let them have this, Maggie. If you ain't notice there isn't much good happenin' in the world, right now."

Lying back down, Maggie crossed her arms and grumbled, "If Bethie gets pregnant, then I'm going to tell my daddy it was your fault."

* * *

The next morning, after a good breakfast, Shane, Rick, Merle, Daryl and Michonne set off in the SUV towards Woodbury. Michonne would have her katana, but they didn't doubt that they would take it from her.

"Still don't like the plan," Shane mumbled from where he sat in the back smashed between Rick and Michonne.

Michonne didn't respond, but smiled when she turned her face back to the window.

"Everything is going to be okay, Shane," Rick said. "If anything bad happens, we'll be near by."

"Yeah and she could be killed by the time we get there," Shane argued.

"And all of us could be killed if we went in there guns blazing. Michonne knows the risks and she's willing to take them."

"I think he's just worried about some man getting fresh with me," Michonne teased and elbowed Shane lightly.

Daryl and Merle laughed from where they sat in the front. For some reason, they felt good. Maybe it was because if the good night's sleep they had gotten the night before or if it was because they thought they really had a chance to beat their father.

"Here," Rick suddenly said, after looking at map. "We'll make camp here. Woodbury is less than a half a mile from here." They all climbed out of the SUV and gathered in front of it.

"Well, you're on your own now," Rick said and stuck out a hand. "Good luck."

Michonne shook it and nodded at each of the other men before turning to walk the rest of the way to Woodbury.

"You've got one day!" Shane yelled after her. "One day and then I'm coming up there and saving your ass!" Michonne just waved him off with a smile and continued to walk on.

* * *

"Hey, would you look at that?" One of the men Ed was on watch with called over to him. He was one of the men who use to live in Woodbury before Buck had decided to take it over.

"What?" Ed walked over to the man and looked to where he pointed. He was shocked to see that it was a woman.

"Should we let her in?"

Ed punched the guy in the arm. "It's a woman! Of course we do!" He hopped off the barricade and opened the door to let her past. That's when he noticed the sword strapped to her back. "Whoa! You ain't going to need that here."

The woman turned cool eyes on him. "Are you going to make me give it up?"

Ed thought for a moment. Even with the sword, this woman wasn't a threat. They all had guns and if she made one bad move, then she'd be killed in seconds.

"No, but we will have to take you to Buck. He's in charge here."

The woman smiled. "By all means, take me to him."


	36. Chapter Thirty-Six

**Chapter 36**

Oscar was the first to wake up the next morning. He and Axel had commandeered the floor as their place of sleep while Andrea was in the bed. She was pregnant, after all and it was starting to show. His stomach started to rumble and that's when he decided to get up from the floor. Axel was still snoring on the other side of the room and Andrea was still buried in her blankets.

Walking over to the table that was set by the window, Oscar grabbed a granola bar, pulled back the curtain, and looked outside. Normally, it was only men with the really big guns that walked around, but he was surprised to see Ed escorting a black woman with what looked like a... _sword_  attached to her back.

"What do we have here?" He was mostly speaking to himself but was surprised when Andrea silently joined his side.

"Do you think they captured her?" Andrea shuddered at the thought. She had been lucky none of the men had come looking for her or any of the other women hold up in their rooms. This woman was out in the open and was probably seen as open game, now.

"I don't know," Oscar answered. "You'd think if they did, they would have confiscated that nasty looking weapon on her back."

Andrea made a noise of agreement and continued to watch the pair of them walk down the street. Axel joined them a few minutes later, just as Ed and the woman disappeared from sight.

"What did I miss?" He rubbed his eyes sleepily.

"Nothing much. Just Ed escorting a possible prisoner to Mr. Buck Dixon," Oscar said, dryly.

Axel winced. "That's probably not going to end well for him."

"Her," Andrea corrected.

Axel winced again. "That makes it even worse."

"Well, there isn't anything we can do about it," Andrea sighed and walked back to her bed. She looked defeated. Milton was most likely dead and now, they were in a town run by a lunatic. She didn't even know if Phillip was still alive. "What the point anymore?"

Oscar and Axel both pulled up chairs to the bed and stared at her. They had become close the few days they had been locked up together and to Andrea, it didn't matter that the men in front of her had been former convicts. They were kind and they could have easily taken advantage of her, but they didn't.

"We're going to run out of food, eventually and if one of you guys goes out there, then you'll be killed. I can't go out there because..." she shuddered. "What's the point anymore? We're just going to die in this tiny room."  _At least, I'd be with Milton, then..._

"You have that baby to think about, Andrea." Oscar said, softly. "And if it comes down to it, me and Axel will do whatever it takes to make sure you and it are safe."

Tears pooled in her eyes at the man's kind words. A few weeks ago, she had never even known these men and now, they were willing to risk their lives for her.

She smiled through her tears, leaned over to grab one of their hands and squeezed . "You guys are the best."

* * *

Michonne stood a few feet away as Ed knocked on the door in front of him and rolled her eyes as he shifted nervously in place, waiting for someone to answer. The man was obviously afraid of whoever was behind the door and she knew she should probably be afraid, too, but for some reason she wasn't. She felt confident that the plan they had put together earlier was going to work and she got to keep her katana, so that was a big plus.

"Come in!" A deep voice bellowed from the other side and Ed jumped at the sound. Michonne smirked and waited for him to open the door so she could enter.

The first thing she noticed was the smell. The air was thick with the smell of sweat and liquor. Not very pleasant smells at all and when her eyes got use to the darkness of the room, she saw a figure sitting in a lounge chair in the corner. It was a man, a large man. In one hand, he held a whisky bottle and by the other was a rifle.

When the man saw her, he straightened up. "Well, what do we have here?"

The question was directed at Ed, but Michonne answered, "The name's Michonne. I just came across this nice little town of yours and wondered if I could stay."

The man lurched to his feet and stepped close to Michonne. It took all of her willpower to not reel away from the stench coming off him. The man looked at Ed. "What do you think, Ed? Should she stay?"

"Of course, Buck," Ed answered with a sleazy smile. Michonne almost gagged at the sight of it and her fingers itched to lop his head off with her sword.

Buck gestured for her to take a seat in a stool near his chair before taking his seat again. "Now, Michonne, tell me a bit about yourself."

Michonne forced a smile and took a seat. "What do you want to know, Buck?"

"Hmm," he scratched the stubble on his chin. "Were you with a group before you found your way here?"

"Nope. I've been alone since this whole thing started."

"So, it's just been you and that sword, huh?" Ed spoke from his spot, still standing, in the middle of the room.

"Yep," she answered.

"What made you stop and come here?" Buck asked. "You've been alone this whole time and you could have jus' walked on by?"

"I was tired of being alone," Michonne leveled a gaze at Buck that she hoped looked seductive.

Buck sat back and his smile grew wider. "I see. Ed why don't you find Michonne a room." Michonne stood up, then and walked to the door.

"Okay," Ed said and then, turned to leave. However, Buck stopped him.

"Michonne, can you wait outside?" The woman didn't answer, just left the room. Buck focused on Ed. "Let everyone know not to touch her. She's mine." Ed nodded. "I'll let her relax today, but tomorrow, I'm going to show her around good ol' Woodbury."

Ed nodded. He knew that Michonne wouldn't be shown any part of the town tomorrow. Lucky Buck. Ed hadn't been laid since before the world went to shit.

"Now, go on and show the woman her room." Buck dismissed him and went back to the bottle of whisky by his chair. Ed hoped for Michonne's sake that the man at least showered before showing up at her door tomorrow.

* * *

Shane was pacing back and forth at the campsite and Daryl was so bored, he sat there watching him. Merle was taking a nap in the truck and Rick was walking the perimeter of the camp since there wasn't much else to do.

"If you keep that pacin' up, you'll make a mote around the fire," Daryl smirked.

"Sorry, man," Shane sighed and sat down a few feet from Daryl. "I can't help but worry since Michonne is there alone."

"Michonne's a fuckin' ninja. She'll be fine."

"What if it was Carol, instead? How would you feel, then?" Shane didn't say that to sound defensive, he generally wanted to know how Daryl would feel.

Daryl snorted. "She wouldn't be there because I'd make her ass stay behind and if she was; my ass would be there right with her."

Shane ran a hand through his hair. "See, I wasn't given a choice."

"You got it bad, then, huh?" Daryl didn't know when he turned into some mushy romantic, but there really wasn't anything better to do at the moment.

Shane looked up at him, a surprised look on his face. "Yeah, I guess, I do." He hung his head, again. "Shit."

A door slammed and the two men looked behind them to see Merle climb out of the SUV. He saw his brother and smiled. "Hey, Daryl, why don't you grab that crossbow of yours and let's get a little huntin' done? Ain't much else to do around here."

Daryl grabbed the crossbow that lay beside him and stood up. With a nod in Shane's direction, he walked over to Merle who was on his way to the woods. They told Rick what they were up to and the man was all right with it.

"Shit, if I knew this was goin' to be borin', then I wouldn't have volunteered to go," Merle grumbled. Daryl could only nod and kept himself alert. Any game that crossed their path would be his.

"Shoulda brought Maggie along. At least then, I would have myself some entertainment."

"In the middle of camp?" Daryl asked.

"Naw, I would have had us sneak away for a bit," Merle smirked. "Surprisingly, we ain't never done it in the woods before."

Daryl's face scrunched up in disgust. Not at the thought of having sex in the woods part because he was pretty sure he'd like to do that with Carol sometime, but the Merle having sex part. Sometimes, his brother was too open about his sex life and it thoroughly disgusted Daryl.

"Well, look it there." Merle was pointing at something in the distance. Daryl squinted his eyes and saw that it was a small, one story house. It was no bigger than the house he had grown up in.

"Want to check it out?" Daryl asked, feeling adventurous.

"Sure."

* * *

Ed didn't know where there were any empty rooms, so we he walked into the first building they came up, too and went to the first door that was open. Looking inside, he saw that it was empty and there was no sign of anyone's belongings.

"Here, you go." He gestured to the woman behind him. Michonne breezed past him and walked into the room to give it a once over. Satisfied with what she saw, she turned back to Ed.

"Thanks."

"No problem. If you need anything else just look for me. I'll probably be on the front wall."

Michonne nodded, knowing that she would never ask this man for anything. She didn't like the look of him at all.

"See you later." Then, Ed was gone walking down the hallway. Michonne watched him go before shutting the door and locking it. Walking over to the bed, she sat down, unsheathed her katana, took the rag from her back pocket and started wiping down the blade, even though it was spotless.

Tomorrow, when Buck showed up at her door, he'd be in for a big surprise.

 


	37. Chapter Thirty-Seven

**Chapter 37**

When Andrea heard voices coming from the hallways, she dropped the book she was reading, ignored the looks of alarm on Axel and Oscar's face and rushed to the door to peek out the peephole. The door was still locked, but she wasn't so sure that was enough of a barrier for a man who really wanted to get in.

From the tiny peephole, she only had a limited view but she did see Ed and the woman they had watched from the window earlier. It looked like the man was showing her a room.

"What is it?" Oscar walked up behind Andrea. "Someone trying to get in?" His hand began to itch to the knife he had strapped to his waist.

"No," Andrea stepped away from the door. "It's just Ed showing that new woman a room. Definitely doesn't look like she's a prisoner here. She was smiling as she shut the door." What Andrea didn't tell them was that the woman's smile was clearly fake and very dangerous. She was planning something, Andrea was sure of it and it didn't look like it would end well for Ed.

Andrea knew she had to talk to her. Walking over the small table by the bed, she picked up her handgun, stuffed it in the waistband of her jeans and headed to the door. "I'll be right back," she said to the two men. Before she could open the door, Oscar slammed a hand on it and kept it shut.

"I can't allow that, Andrea."

Andrea couldn't help but smile. "I'll be fine, really. I'm just going across the hall and I have my weapon." She patted the gun at her hip.

"You are also very beautiful and pregnant. If one of those men out there happen to see you cross the hall, I can't be sure that they won't try to grab you." He folded his arms across his chest. "Promised Milton I'd take care of you and that's what I'm going to do."

"Yeah, me too." Axel piped up.

Andrea sighed. They really had good intentions and she loved them for it, but they were becoming very overbearing and before the end of the world, she had been an independent woman and it was time she became that woman, again.

"We'll go with you across the hall," Oscar said.

"No," she said, firmly. "It's just going to be and her. Woman to woman. You and Axel can watch me safely arrive to her room, but that's it."

When Oscar looked like he was going to protest, Andrea fixed him with a look and his mouth snapped shut.

"Okay, I'm leaving,  _now._  I'll be back soon.  _Do not_  come after me, unless you hear me scream or something. Understood?" Andrea made sure to make eye contact with Oscar and Axel as they nodded in agreement. They weren't happy with the arrangement, but tough luck to them.

With one last look at her friends, Andrea opened the door and walked across the hall. Luckily, the hallway was empty. She knocked on the woman's door and waited for her to answer. What she didn't expect, though, was for the door to whip open and a freaking  _sword_  to be pointed in her face.

* * *

Daryl had out his crossbow and Merle his handgun as they checked out the surroundings of the cabin. No walkers in sight, but they weren't for sure about the inside.

"Okay, I'll go inside first and get the top floor," Merle instructed. "You get the bottom floor and when we're done, then we'll meet in the livin' room." Daryl nodded and silently followed his brother into the building.

Staying alert, Daryl kept his crossbow up to his face and scoped out the kitchen first. Inspecting the cupboards, he was surprised to see them stocked full of canned food. Someone had been prepared for the end of the world or, they still where. For all he and Merle knew, whoever had been in this cabin before could still be around.

"Shit!" Daryl heard Merle curse from above. In an instant, he was taking the stairs two at a time. If Merle got himself in trouble with a walker, he would have shot it. Daryl hadn't heard a gunshot and was afraid that maybe Merle had gotten incapacitated before he could.

"Merle!" He called, hoping that he wouldn't be meant with silence. "Where are you, man?"  _Please, fuckin' answer me._  Daryl didn't know how he'd react if his brother were to be killed.

"In here!" Daryl let out a breath of relief, but that was soon followed by anger. Merle had scared the shit out of him.

Daryl found him in the last room staring at a body on the bed. "What the hell?" He shoved Merle hard. "Thought your ass was in trouble. Could have killed myself runnin' up the stairs like I did."

"Fuck, sorry. This dude jus' surprised me, is all." Merle kicked the bed post. "Guess we don't have to worry about the people who live here comin' back. Looks like this man got bit," he pointed to a mark by the man's neck in the shape of a bite. "And then, he blew his brains out." That's when Daryl noticed the blood sprayed on the wall behind the body.

"And if they're any walkers in here, we would have known by now with all the yellin' we've been doin'."

Merle ran a hand through his short hair. "I guess. Did you find anythin' interestin' down stairs?"

"Kitchen full of canned food, but that was all I got the chance to see before you started yellin'."

"All right. Well I'll finish lookin' up here," Merle went to the closest and tossed a bag at him. "Find anythin' useful in here and we can bring it back to camp for the others."

Daryl nodded, slung the bag over his shoulder and walked back down the stairs he had run up only a few minutes prior. He knew he couldn't take all the food back to camp, but would bring enough for the four of them. After the whole thing with Woodbury was finished, they could come back here to stock up.

Or would they have to if they decided to stay in Woodbury? The idea of staying in a town with a hundred others and the only space that could truly be his would just be a bedroom caused Daryl to shudder. However, if Carol wanted to stay there, then he would do it. Gladly.

Heading towards the living room, his bag half full of canned goods. A large blue and green checkered blanket caught his eye. Running a hand over it, Daryl nearly groaned at the softness. The blankets back at the house were comfortable, but this felt amazing. Carol would love it. He took it and stuffed it into the duffle bag.

"Done shoppin' for your woman, yet?" Daryl dropped the pillow he had been looking at when he heard his brother's voice from the doorway.

"Shut up," Daryl mumbled. "Did you find anythin'?"

"Yeah, got somethin' for you." Merle tossed him a small object and Daryl was lucky to grab it. Opening his palm, Daryl saw that it was a silver band.

"The hell is this for?"

"I saw that Carol had a ring on her finger and I figured you'd need one, too, when you finally got hitched. See if it fits."

Daryl slid it on the ring finger of his left hand and was startled to find it a perfect fit. Where had Merle found it? Oh. Hell. No. Quickly, he pulled it off his finger and resisted throwing it back in Merle's face. "Did you get this off the dead guy? Cuz if you did, I'm goin' to kick your ass."

"Relax." Merle lifted his hand up in a placating motion. "Found it in a drawer. Promise."

"Better have." Daryl kept up the angry facade, but slid the ring back on. Marrying Carol was becoming even more real, now. Maybe that could be the first thing they did once he got back from their Woodbury mission. The sooner he could make her a Dixon, the better.

"Well, what's this, bro?" Daryl hadn't seen Merle walk over to his bag and lift up the blanket.

"Get out of there!" Daryl snatched the blanket back and shoved Merle away.

Zipping his bag back up, Daryl swung it over his shoulder and then, saw Merle's bag lying by the couch. Smirking he went over and peered inside. Turnabout was fair, right. Reaching in he grabbed something...lacy?

"The fuck is this, Merle?" Daryl pulled out a purple lacy bra. "Got somethin' you want to tell me? Don't think its your size." He chuckled and held it with two fingers.

Merle snatched the undergarment away and stuffed it back in his bag. "Found that in one of the bedrooms. Jus' my luck that it's Maggie's size and favorite color."

Daryl rolled his eyes and hid a grin. "Come on, let's head back." He started heading for the door. "We can always come back later. Still tons of food in the cupboards."

"Sounds like a plan."

Daryl took one last look inside the cabin before he shut the door and followed his brother into the woods.

* * *

Beth was singing softly as she made supper that evening. Sharon helped and Lori, who was battling morning sickness, now, couldn't handle the smells and was cooped up in her room. Carol, having being shooed out of the kitchen, decided to get some fresh air and was now sitting on the railing of the porch.

The sun still had a ways to go before sinking past the horizon and Carol took the time to look at the surroundings. It really was a beautiful place. The house was very modest in size, the yard was huge and towards the back of the property they had found good-sized creek. It was perfect.

The screen door behind her closed and Carol listened as someone approached her. Maggie appeared at her side and looked at her friend with a smile. "I hope you're not out here worrying."

Carol knew that Daryl and the rest of the men would not descend on Woodbury until the following night, so she knew that wherever he was, Daryl was safe. Well, as safe as one could get in this world. Of course, there were still walkers, but they didn't scare Carol as much as people did, now. Especially people like Ed Peletier and Buck Dixon. Those men could thrive in this world knowing that they could do whatever they wanted without consequence. This time there would be consequences, though.

"I'm not worried, yet." Carol knew she'd start to worry when Glenn, T-Dog, Milton and her father headed out to meet up with Daryl, Merle, Shane and Rick. That meant things were about to go down and it would become dangerous for them.

"The same." Maggie scooted closer up to Carol, her arm brushing against Carol's leg. "Do you think we can convince them to take us with tomorrow?"

"How do you think Merle and Daryl would react if we just showed up?" Carol laughed when she pictured how Daryl would look. He'd be  _pissed_ and so would Merle.

"They would drag us back to the car and drive us back themselves."

"I just hope everything goes quickly so that they can come back soon." Carol's tone turned serious. "The quicker the better." When Daryl returned, they had to talk about what they were going to do. Would they stay here or would they go to Woodbury? Carol knew she'd follow Daryl to Hell if that's where he wanted to go.

* * *

Beth nearly jumped out of her skin when she turned from the kitchen counter and nearly ran straight into Glenn's chest.

Glenn took the bowl full of canned baked beans in Beth's hands and placed it on the counter behind her. Now, he had her full attention. "Are you avoiding me?"

Sharon stopped preparing food and looked at the couple. Beth felt her face grow hot and she grabbed Glenn by the arm to drag him out the backdoor.

"Well," Glenn shifted nervously. "Are you? I mean, I'm sorry that I kissed you last night, but the way you kissed me back I thought you liked it and then-" Beth pressed a finger to his lips and shut him up.

"Don't worry, I'm not avoiding you." Beth smiled. "Especially not after last night, but my dad's been keeping a sharp eye on me all day and I couldn't have him see me go off alone with you."

"But he knew we were alone together last night." Glenn looked confused. "He didn't have a problem, then. Did he?"

"No." Beth rolled her eyes. "He just likes it when I let him know if I'm going off with some boy. Otherwise, he'll look for me and probably catch us kissing."

"Oh." Understanding dawned on Glenn's face and he smiled. "I get it, now." Then, the smile vanished instantly. "We're alone, now. Do you think he's looking for us?" He immediately began to look around them.

Beth covered her mouth and muffled a giggle at the look of fear in Glenn's eyes. "He probably is, so we should head back inside. Supper should be about ready, too." She leaned up on her tiptoes and kissed Glenn quickly on the mouth before walking back into the house.

* * *

A scream tried to escape out of Andrea's throat but she made sure to hold it down. At the first sound of alarm, Oscar and Axel would be out of their room within seconds and that was the last thing she wanted right now.

"Please don't kill me," Andrea also made sure to keep her voice down. "I'm just here to talk to you, that's all."

Slowly the sword lowered from her face and Andrea finally got a good look at the dreadlocked woman in front of her. The woman narrowed her eyes and didn't look away from Andrea as she sheathed the weapon.

"Come in." Her voice was low and she stepped aside to let Andrea pass.

Andrea didn't wait for the woman to invite her to sit, she just took the only chair in the room and waited for the woman to shut the door and take a seat on the bed.

"What did you want to talk about?" The woman's voice was laced with suspicion.

"First of all, my name is Andrea and you are?"

Her eyes narrowed even more. "Michonne." Michonne's gaze went to Andrea's stomach. "When are you due?"

Self consciously, Andrea covered up her stomach with her arms. "In about five months."

"Does Milton know?" Michonne smirked and leaned back on the bed.

"Yeah, I let him know before he-" Andrea stopped. "Wait, you knew Milton?"

"I  _know_  him. He's at a farmhouse about a mile or so away. "

Andrea nearly stared weeping in joy. "He's alive?"

Michonne nodded. "Very much, so, and if everything goes as planned, then you'll be reunited with him tomorrow night."

"Really?" Andrea nearly bolted from her chair. "Oh my God." This was the last thing she had expected to happen when she walked across the hall to Michonne's door.

Michonne leaned close. "We have a plan to take back Woodbury. We could use your help."

She smiled. "Of course."

"Tomorrow, Buck is going to come and 'show me around town'. We both know that's not what's going to happen." Andrea agreed. The man was sick. "I'm going to knock his ass out. He won't expect a thing, so that will get him out of the way. Now, the plan is to come through the east and west side of Woodbury, since there is only one guard on each side."

"You're right," Andrea said. "Phillip would usually have the least experience or one of the younger men on guard. Buck probably has done the same. It's really an easy job because no one can come in that way, unless they climbed and well, by then the alarm would have gone off."

Michonne absorbed the news and got to her feet to walk to the window. From her window, she could only see behind the building and the wall surrounding the town. "I can get one of the men on one side." She looked down at Andrea. "Do you think you can get the other? Half of the men will be going to the west and the other to the east. Hopefully, it will be enough to take back Woodbury. So, are you up to it?"

The idea of doing  _something_  to take back Woodbury from Buck, Ed and his men nearly had Andrea jumping out of her chair and screaming, 'yes'. Being cooped up in her room with two other men for a couple days was starting to drive her crazy. "Of course, I'm up for it." Milton would have had a heart attack if he knew she was putting herself in danger, but she would gladly do it if it meant she got to see him again.

Michonne smiled. "Good."


	38. Chapter Thirty-Eight

Phillip Blake didn't know what time it was or how many days he had been left strapped to the wooden chair. Dried blood was caked on his face and his head pounded. Buck's men, Tomas and Andrew, had taken turns beating him for no reason than to just cause pain. The men were just as sick as the man who had taken over Woodbury.

After the last beating, he had wished they would just kill him. It was obvious there was no reason to why they were keeping him alive other than to just keep using him as a punching bag. They had removed the gag from his mouth but there was no way he could call for help, even if there was anyone to hear. His lips and cheeks were so swollen and bloody that all of his words came out slurred and unintelligible.

The door to the room opened and Phillip watched a man approach through the slits of his swollen eyes. From the man's girth and build, he could tell that it was Buck Dixon. He hadn't seen the man since they had barged into his room a week ago and smashed him over the head with a blunt object.

"Well, how's our little  _Governor_  doin'?" A scraping sound had Phillip wincing as the noise made his ears ring. Buck had dragged a metal chair over to set in front of him and the large man settled in it. Crossing his arms over his massive chest, Buck smirked at him.

Phillip didn't answer him and wouldn't have if he could speak normally. Buck got off on fear and pain and he would be damned if he gave him the pleasure of seeing both of those in him.

Buck didn't seem to mind that he'd be having one-sided conversation and continued talking. "I bet you're wonderin' why we're still keepin' your ass alive, huh?" Uncrossing his arms, Buck leaned forward and inserted himself in Phillip's personally space. "Tell ya the truth; I don't know why you are, either. My men are tired of kickin' the shit out of you."

Phillip just stared at Buck, hoping, that despite his swollen eyes, he appeared to look defiant. Phillip Blake didn't scare easily and he was especially not scared of the man in front of him, even if he could kill him in a blink of an eye.

"We got ourselves a little surprise this mornin'. A nice lookin' black woman showed up at our door." Buck adjusted his belt. "I'm goin' to have a little fun with her tomorrow, if you know what I mean." He winked and Phillip was immediately feeling sorry for the woman who had been unfortunate enough to come here.

"Luckily for you, she's put me in a good mood." Reaching to his side, Buck took out a gun. "I was goin' to kill you, today and then, she showed up. Mr. Phillip Blake, you have one more day to live." He stood up and walked to the door. "You're welcome."

* * *

That night, Carol went to bed, alone. Daryl was still out with his brother, Shane and Rick. Tomorrow, Glenn, T-dog, Shumpert, Marc and Milton would be joining them and they would take on Woodbury. She was worried about him. He and Merle would come face to face with their father, a man they hadn't seen in five years. The same man was responsible for the scars on Daryl's back. There was no telling what was going to happen when all three Dixon men reunited. Carol just hoped Merle and Daryl would come out on top.

Someone knocked on her door and Carol sat up in the bed to turn on the battery powered light on the bedside table. "Come in," she called.

Maggie peered around the door and when she saw Carol in bed, she smiled and climbed into the bed with her. "Can I stay here for the night?" She already had the covers pulled up to her chin.

Carol smiled. "Bed feel to empty to you, too?" Maggie nodded. "Of course, you can stay." Carol turned off the light and lay back down on the bed. Turning on her side, she faced Maggie.

"Just think, Carol, this time tomorrow our boys will be back to us. Hopefully."

"They better be," Carol smiled. "Or we'll just have to go after them and drag them back, right?"

"There won't be anything that will stop us," Maggie agreed and Carol knew that they were some truth to their words. Daryl and Merle would be pissed but if they took longer at Woodbury than they planned, then Carol and Maggie would be on their way to see what was up.

Things were silent, but neither one of them went to sleep. Carol giggled softly when she remembered something that she had seen earlier.

Maggie turned on her side and watched as Carol continued to laugh quietly to herself. A crease appeared between her brows and Carol knew she was probably thinking she was crazy. "What's so funny?"

"Guess who I saw making out again after supper?"

Maggie groaned and flopped to her back. "Not again. Beth had better watch it before Daddy catches her. One time he caught Beth and Jimmy making out in the barn. They got in a massive fight and I heard all about it for weeks."

"She's older now, Maggie. I don't think she'll act like that this time and besides, Glenn seems like a nice guy."

"As long as she's just sneaking off to make out with him and not to do...other things."

Carol elbowed her. "Not ready to be on aunt, yet?"

"Hell no. She's not allowed to have kids until I do and with the way things are right now, it may be a while."

"But you do want children?" The conversation turned serious, again. Maggie and Carol were best friends but they had never gotten the chance to talk about children before.

"Of course, I do and believe it or not, so does Merle."

Carol scooted closer to her friend. "Aw, really?"

"Yeah, but things are crazy, right now and I don't know if bringing a child into this is the smart thing to do." Maggie sounded sad.

"Lori's pregnant," Carol blurted and immediately covered her mouth with both hands. She definitely did not mean to say that aloud. She had promised Lori.

"What?" Maggie sat up and looked down at Carol. "Does Rick know?"

"Not yet." Carol figured the damage was already done. "She didn't want him to worry more than he already was."

"I still don't know. Maybe I'll bring it up to Merle when everything gets settled down."

"Do you know yet if he's going to want to stay here or in Woodbury?" Carol asked.

"No, do you know about, Daryl?"

Carol shook her head. "I think I want to stay here. Woodbury isn't that far, so we could visit everyone if we wanted to, but being locked up in a town with a dozen others doesn't sound appealing to me and it probably won't sound appealing to our boys, either."

"Then, it's settled. We'll tell them what we want to do when they get back," Maggie said firmly. "Knowing them, they're probably waiting for us to make the first move, anyways." She chuckled lightly and rolled her eyes. "Typical Dixons."

* * *

"What I wouldn't give to have my fuckin' cell phone," Merle complained as the four men sat around the small fire they had built. Earlier they had dined on a meal of rabbit that Daryl had caught on the return trip back to the campsite.

"I hated the damn thing, but I'd kill to have it back, now," Daryl agreed. The only person who called his phone was Carol and right now, he wished he had his so that he'd be able to speak to Carol somehow.

"Same here," Rick spoke up from his spot next to Shane. "I'd like to know how Lori's doing right now. She's been acting a little different, lately and I don't know why."

Daryl knew _exactly_  why, but had been sworn to secrecy by Carol. Besides, Rick would find out eventually, anyway.

"Probably jus' her time of the mouth," Merle said and Daryl elbowed him hard in the side. Merle gave him a sour look.

Rick shrugged. "I guess it could be that. I just want this whole Woodbury thing to be over with and then, I'll sit her down and make her tell me what's going on." Rick wasn't stupid and Daryl knew if the man was left to dwell on his wife, he might figure out what her problem actually was.

"I'd like to know how Michonne is doing," Shane mumbled.

"Well, we haven't heard any gunshots, so I'm goin' to say she's doing fine," Merle chuckled and Daryl elbowed him hard again. "What the fuck?" He growled.

"Sometimes you need to think before you speak," Daryl growled right back.

"Hey, I'm jus' tryin' to keep the mood light, baby brother."

"Ain't doin' a good job." Daryl grabbed his crossbow and stood up. "I think we should get some sleep, Merle." He was tired and he didn't want to leave Merle with the two former police officers in case he tried to keep the mood 'light' again.

"All right," Merle agreed reluctantly and followed his brother to the one tent they had pitched.

"You'll wake us up for our watch, right?" Daryl asked Rick and Shane before ducking inside the vinyl tent. Both men nodded and Daryl was satisfied with the answer. The tent was barely big enough for the two Dixons, but it was better than sleeping on the ground outside.

"You ready for tomorrow?" Merle asked once they were settled into their sleeping bags. Daryl groaned silently when it looked like his brother seemed to be in a talkative mood.

"As I'll ever be, I guess."

"Ready to take out our ol' man? Cuz you know that's what goin' to happen," Merle looked over at Daryl and he could see the grim look on his older brother's face. "Buck ain't leavin' that town alive."

"I know," Daryl sighed. He had never killed a human being before and knew that killing his pa wouldn't be easy, but if it meant Carol would be safe, then he do it. The man wasn't a direct threat to them, but as long as he was still out there, Daryl knew he would always be looking over his shoulder, waiting for him to appear.

"We'll be fine, Daryl." Merle reached over and squeezed his shoulder with reassurance. Daryl surprisingly believed him.

* * *

Andrea returned back to the room later than what she had planned, but she hadn't expected the woman to be on the same side as them and they had done a lot of planning in that small room. Oscar was instantly on his feet when the door creaked open and Andrea was reminded of her father when she saw the stern look on his face.

"What took you so long?"  _Yep_ , Andrea thought. _Just like my dad._

"We had a lot to talk about," she crossed the room and placed her gun on the table by the window. Axel had been dozing off in the chair and was jarred awake by the sound of her voice so close to him.

"Did you do each other's nails, too?"

"Damnit," Andrea exclaimed, sarcastically. "That's the one thing we  _didn't_  do." She shot Oscar a withering glare and went to sit on her bed.

"Well, then, what  _did_ you two talk about?" Oscar walked around the bed and sat on the windowsill.

"We made plans," Andrea said. "Tomorrow a bunch of men are going to come to take back Woodbury and Milton's going to be with them!"

"He's alive?" Axel and Oscar asked at the same time.

"Yes!" Andrea nodded happily. "He's alive and he's going to take back the town. Michonne and I just have to take out the two men on watch on the east and west sides and-"

"Hell no," Oscar interrupted and stood up. "That ain't happening."

"Excuse me?" Andrea paused and crossed her arms. "Who made you my father?"

"Andrea, you're-

"Pregnant, I know, but this is a way I can help and it's going to be an easy job. I'm going on the side Big Tiny is on and we all know that he'd never harm a fly, let alone me." She fixed both men with a look. "I'm going to do this and neither one of you is going to stop me. Got it?" Axel nodded enthusiastically, but Oscar was more reluctant to agree.

"Andrea..."

"Oscar, please. I  _need_  to do this. Especially if it means I'll be able to see Milton, again."

Oscar finally agreed, knowing that even if he didn't Andrea would still do it anyways.


	39. Chapter Thirty-Nine

Despite the late hour they had gone to bed the night before, Carol and Maggie were the first to wake up the next morning and headed to the kitchen to start putting together a breakfast for everyone. "I wish we had some eggs and bacon," Maggie said wistfully and grabbed several cans of canned fruit from the cupboards

"I miss the chickens your dad had back on the farm." Carol lined up a row of bowls and then searched for a can opener to open the cans.

"I miss having fried chicken, too. Not that I'm complaining about the squirrel Daryl gets on occasion." Maggie playfully bumped Carol's hip.

Just as Carol spooned the last bowl with fruit cocktail, Hershel followed by the rest of their group walked into the kitchen. Sharon wrapped an arm around her stepdaughter and kissed her cheek. "Thanks honey, for preparing breakfast."

Carol handed her a bowl. "You and Beth make the meals all the time and Maggie and I wanted to give both of you a break, this morning."

"I appreciate it, dear." Sharon took the bowl and sat with Marc, who had gotten his food from Maggie. Glenn and Beth had walked into the kitchen at the same time and both Hershel and Maggie were keeping an eye on the two.

"Leave them alone, Maggie," Carol whispered in her friend's ear and handed her some breakfast. "Let's eat outside." Maggie nodded and followed Carol through the front door and were surprised when they found Milton sitting on the steps. He hadn't come in for breakfast and Carol wondered how long he had been sitting out there.

Carol and Maggie took a seat on either side of him. "Something wrong?" Carol asked. Since his sudden appearance a few days prior, she hadn't been able to talk with Milton as much as she'd like. All the men had been swept up in their planning and after the plans, Milton would make himself scarce. Probably thinking about Andrea, who was currently trapped in a town run by Buck Dixon.

Milton seemed startled to find them there. "Oh, uh, nothing's wrong, Carol. Just trying to prepare myself for later. Can't say I'm very well-versed in using a gun."

"Don't worry," Maggie wrapped a companionable arm around him. "Merle and Daryl will make sure nothing happens to you. Merle's told me on several occasions that you were the first friend he ever had and there's nothing he wouldn't do to keep you safe."

Milton chuckled lightly. "Makes me sound like his girlfriend or something."

"Well," Maggie smiled. "I can assure you that's not how he sees you. At all."

"Is there more of that in the kitchen," he pointed at the bowl in Maggie's hand.

"Of course. We made one for everyone."

Milton stood and stretched. "I'm going to grab me something to eat. Thank you both for the chat. I really appreciate it."

"You're welcome," both women said at the same time with large smiles.

* * *

Michonne sat on the windowsill and cleaned the blade of her sword until it gleamed. She had been up since the sun had lifted up above the horizon and now, was waiting for Buck to make his visit. Looking at her reflection in the gleaming metal, she smiled and placed the weapon back in the sheath on her back. For Buck's visit, she wouldn't need it. Well, right away, anyways. Even though, she desperately wanted to use it on the man, but she leave his fate to the Dixon brothers.

A knock sounded on the door. Michonne got up and tried to nurse her face into a neutral expression. She looked through the peephole and with a grimace, saw that it was Buck. Opening the door, Michonne cocked a hip and gave him her best sexy look, even though all she wanted to do was throw up.

"Well, hello, there." Buck didn't even try to cover up the fact that he was undressing her with his eyes. His eyes had even lingered on her chest before finally making eye contact with her.

"So, are you here to show me around town or..." She looked behind her and at the bed. "Something else?"

Buck licked his lips and it was clear what he wanted to do without saying anything. Michonne stepped aside and Buck happily walked through the door. His shirt was already flying to the floor before she had even shut the door. He looked at her, expectantly. "You, too, honey. I ain't the only one gettin' naked here."

Michonne lowered her voice. "Why don't you come over here and help me."

Buck looked like he won the jackpot and approached her. Everything was going according to plan. Just as he reached for her shirt, Michonne reeled back with a fist and slammed it into his nose. Blood spurted and cartilage snapped. What didn't go according to plan was for Buck to take a step back, trip over his feet which caused him to fall backwards and hit his head on the post of the bed, knocking him out cold.

Her sword didn't have to make an appearance and Michonne looked down at the unconscious man with a smirk. She opened the drawer to the nightstand by the bed and took out a set of handcuffs, which she asked Shane for moments before she had left for Woodbury. Shockingly, he still had his pair. She toed Buck's body over and pulled his arms behind his back to handcuff them.

The door opened behind her and she whipped the sword from her back to point at the intruder. It was Oscar, Axel and Andrea. The large black man took a step forward, eyes on the unconscious man on the floor and smirked. "Do you need any help with that?"

* * *

Carol and Maggie stood on the porch with Hershel, Sharon and Lori as they watched the men load into two of their vehicles. Martinez was laid up in the house, still recovering from his gunshot wound. None of them were happy, but they knew what had to be done and wouldn't say anything. Lori was unconsciously putting a hand on her belly and if anyone were to really look to see what she was doing, it wouldn't take them long to figure out that she was pregnant. Sharon looked calm as she watched her husband load up into the same vehicle as T-Dog and Milton; however, Carol knew that she was going to be worried sick once he left.

"Where's Glenn?" Maggie asked when she saw the Asian man not among those getting into the cars.

"Where's Beth?" Carol noticed the young woman's missing presence the moment Maggie had noticed Glenn's.

"Oh, hell no." Maggie growled and was about to turn to march back into the house to look for her sister, when the happy couple walked around the corner of the house. They were giggling and happy. Carol knew Maggie would see that her sister was happy and control her anger. For now.

"Leave them be, Maggie," Carol wrapped an arm around her friend's waist. "You can get her later. Let them have their happy reunion."

"Fine." Maggie grumped and crossed her arms.

* * *

Oscar and Axel struggled to lift Buck's still unconscious body and placed him in the only armchair in the room. "What are we going to do with him, now?" Andrea asked.

Michonne shrugged. "Just keep him here, I guess. As long as he isn't out there, then I think it's a good thing."

All four of them jumped when someone started knocking at Michonne's door. Axel and Oscar dropped so fast behind the bed it was almost comical and Andrea slipped behind the door, so whoever was at the door couldn't see her.

"It's Ed," Michonne whispered after looking through the peephole. Andrea made a gagging sound and motioned for Michonne to answer the door.

Ed didn't waste anytime in talking once the door was opened. "You see Buck?" Michonne had made sure to only open the door a sliver so that Ed couldn't see inside the room.

Michonne leaned against the door and gave her best sultry smile. "As a matter of fact, I have. He's kind of sleeping, right now. I may have worn him out. Do you need him, now?"

Ed made a face. "Uh, no. Just wondering where the hell he went. Um, when he wakes up, can you let him know I stopped by?"

"Of course, I will." Michonne winked and closed the door. She may have overdone it a bit, but she didn't care. Andrea stepped from her spot in the corner of the door and smiled.

"That was easy. Now, what do we do?"

"Well, we can't go to the east and west barricades until almost dark, so we'll just have to hang out here."

Oscar stood up from his hiding spot. "With him? I don't think so. You can handle him with that sword of yours, right?"

"You bet." Michonne smiled and then opened the door to check the hallway for Ed or any other men of Buck's. It was clear. She motioned that the coast was clear and the two men left the room. Andrea decided to stay behind with Michonne. It had been a long time since she had been able to talk with another woman, now that she thought of it, the last woman she had talked to had been Carol and that had been for the world ended. God, she missed Carol. Hopefully, after tonight, she'd be able to see her friend, again.

* * *

The rest of their attack group arrived at their campsite right on time. Daryl and Merle were anxious to get things going, but they knew they had to wait until nightfall. They just wanted this whole thing with Woodbury and Buck to be over, so that they could go back to living normally. Or somewhat normally, anyway.

"Everyone gather around," Rick took control, being the leader, and motioned for all of the men to take their seats around the smothering remains of their fire. "I know we discussed the plan back at the farmhouse, but I think we need to go over them, again, just so everything goes well."

Everyone agreed.

"Okay," Rick started. "Group one, which will be me, Shane, T-Dog, Glenn and Shumpert will go to the west side of the Woodbury. Hopefully by then, Michonne will have dispatched the man on watch there. Our job afterwards is to take out all of Buck's men as quietly as possible. At the same time, group two, which is Daryl, Merle, Milton and Marc. Daryl may have to take out the man there with his crossbow and that group's responsibility is to find Buck and Ed.

"We must remember to be silent as we don't want to alarm anyone and cause a shoot out to happen in the middle of the streets."

They all nodded their heads. The plan was simple, even though taking back Woodbury would be anything but easy. However, Daryl knew that the hardest part of the day was going to be the waiting.


	40. Chapter Forty

Axel and Oscar had decided to stay in the room with Buck while Michonne and Andrea went into Andrea's room to wait for it to get dark. The man had woken up soon after Ed had stopped by the room, but luckily, the Axel and Oscar had found some rope and tied him to the chair he had been slumped in. Buck was going nowhere fast.

In the room, Michonne sat on the windowsill and looked down at the street while Andrea checked and rechecked her gun to make sure that the bullets were there. Hopefully, she wouldn't have to use any, but if anyone threatened her or her baby's life, then they were going to be shot. That was a promise.

"Ed just passed," Michonne informed her and Andrea got up from her spot to join her new friend. "Looks like he's going to the front barricade for his watch."

"Good," Andrea said. "That'll keep him out of hair and we won't have to worry about him paying you and Buck another visit."

"It needs to get dark soon," The dreadlocked woman muttered. "The waiting has to be the hardest part out of all this." She stood up from the window and paced the room. Her katana rested against the wall for easy access in case Ed or any of Buck's men decided to visit.

Andrea wanted this whole thing to be over with so that she could finally be able to see Milton again. It had been almost two weeks since she last laid eyes on his face and she dearly missed him. Especially now, when the baby inside her had continued to grow and a bump was now more visible through her clothing.

"Do you think we'll be able to pull this off?" Andrea asked.

Michonne turned to face her, an eyebrow raised. "Are we really going to do  _this_  now? You're not having second thoughts are you?"

Andrea quickly shook her head. "No. I just really want your opinion on the whole thing. That's all."

Michonne took a seat on the other side of the bed, across from Andrea. "We'll be able to pull this off. Don't worry. Shane and everyone else are more than capable of taking care of all the turncoats here."

"You know him?"

"Yeah, we went to school together. I talked to him a few times. Small world to run into him again after all hell has broken loose." She chuckled to herself.

"We're- we're kind of a...thing." Michonne admitted, softly. It was like she had never done this before. Admit that she was with someone.

"Really? That's great!" Andrea was truly happy for her new friend. They needed all the happiness they could get. "He seemed like a great guy in high school, so you made a good choice."

The other woman smiled. "I already knew he was a good man. We survived together for a little while after I saved his ass from getting eaten by some walkers." She picked at a loose thread on the comforter. "Thought I was going to be on my own until the end and then, he came along."

"Milton and I thought we'd be alone, too, until Axel and Oscar found us. Then, I passed out while on the road and we found our way here. Don't know yet if this place will be a blessing or a curse."

"It'll be a blessing." Michonne reached over and grabbed one of Andrea's hands. "After today, Woodbury will be a blessing. I promise."

* * *

The closer and closer the sun came to setting, the Dixon brothers grew more and more anxious. The rest of the men were either sitting around the now smothering ashes of the fire or in one of the vehicles, waiting patiently. Merle and Daryl paced around the camp and would snap at anyone would tell them to sit.

"Should jus' fuckin' leave," Merle muttered to Daryl from where they stood by the woods. "Bet we could take care of Woodbury before anyone else showed up."

Daryl snored. "And get killed in the process? Hell no. I'd like to get hitched before I die." The ring Merle had found earlier in the house was tucked safely in the right pocket of his green cargoes. He wouldn't put it on until he and Carol were officially 'married'.

"That's right!" Merle slapped him hard on the back and hooted. "You two still have to make it official. Don't worry I'll make sure to get your ass out of there alive and able to say your 'I dos'. Hell, even our dear old daddy can be in attendance."

"Rather not have  _him_  there." Daryl growled. Merle had gotten his fair share of beatings from his pa, even a hospital stay or two, but the man had a stronger hatred for the youngest Dixon and the feeling was mutual. It was unlikely that Pa Dixon would make it out of Woodbury alive.

"I understand, baby brother. That motherfucker ain't long for this world. You can bet on that."

* * *

"It's time." Those two words had Andrea jumping from the bed, strapping her gun to her belt and putting her game face on. Shit was about to get real. Or so she hoped. There was going to be no room for error and everything had to go completely as planned or lives would be lost. She and Michonne's being some of them.

Together, the two women snuck out of their rooms and out of the building. At the door, they would have to go their separate ways. Andrea would go to the east barricade while Michonne went to the west.

"Good luck," Andrea clasped the other woman's hands in hers. "And be careful, okay?" Michonne nodded and without another word, they went their separate ways.

Andrea made sure to keep to the shadows so no one saw her and she smiled to herself. She felt like some kind of ninja. Or a spy. She couldn't wait to tell Milton all about her important mission when she saw him again. Just thinking about Milton, though, had her going back to being serious. She couldn't let her guard down; even if it was only Big Tiny she'd have to deal with. That man was a gentle giant.

When she reached the barricade she saw that the large man had his back to her and with a large rifle in his hands. Carefully she climbed up the ladder leading to the top and was glad he hadn't heard her at all.

"Big Tiny," she said in her most firm voice, glad that her voice didn't waver. "I'm going to need you to put the gun down.  _Now._ "

The large man jumped when he heard Andrea's voice and when he turned around, his eyes grew large when he saw the gun that was pointed at him. "A-Andrea?"

"Put it down, Big Tiny. I don't want to shoot you, but I will." She hoped it wouldn't get to that point. Andrea didn't want to have to shoot anybody.

"All right, all right." The rifle hit the ground with a loud clank and the two of them winced at the noise.

"Now, kick it over." He did and Andrea picked it up.

"What are you doing?" Big Tiny had his hands up and still looked frightened.

"We're taking back Woodbury from Buck and Ed." Andrea was surprised when the man in front of her let out a large sigh and his hands flopped to his sides.

Smiling, he said," Good."

* * *

Taking down the man on watch had been easier than Michonne had thought. The tall, lanky man hadn't even noticed when she'd walked up behind him and used the handle of her sword to knock him out. He fell to the ground like a sack of bricks and Michonne wasted no time in relieving him off the weapons on his person, which were just a rifle and a pocketknife.

Michonne hoped that everything had gone just as smoothly for Andrea and now, all she could do was sit and wait for Shane to arrive.

* * *

It was fucking time.

Merle and Daryl had been the first to hop into a vehicle when Rick had stood and announced they need to get a move on. They drove the two cars until they got about a fourth a mile away from Woodbury and the rest would be done on foot. The sun wasn't completely down, yet, and they were all thankful for the bit of a light and any walkers were easily avoided or dispatched on their trek to the town.

Marc and Milton stayed close to the Dixons and everyone else stayed in there own group. When the walls of the town could be visible through the trees, Rick motioned for them to all stop and do some last minute briefing before their plan would get set into motion.

"Okay, any questions?" He asked, looking at everyone and when no one said anything, he nodded. "All right. Let's get a move on. Remember don't fire unless absolutely necessary and be careful."

"Let's get this show on the road already!" Merle complained.

Rick just rolled his eyes. "See you all on the inside." Then, the two groups silently parted ways. Buck and his men wouldn't know what hit them.


	41. Chapter Forty-One

Andrea scanned the inky blackness for any signs of movement, dead or undead. She knew that they were supposed to be there soon. Big Tiny's watch ended in a few hours and another man would take his place. She hoped that they'd show up by then, even though she had Big Tiny as an ally. There's would be someone who was bound to notice when the big man wouldn't come back from watch.

"Anything?" She asked the large man. Andrea had given him back his rifle and together they stood watching for any sign of life.

"Nothing. You sure they're coming?" Big Tiny had been newly added to the plan and hadn't yet to gain the confidence of the men coming to take back Woodbury.

"They better be," Andrea tried to sound angry so that it masked how worried she was. There was no doubt that they were coming, but if they never showed up then that meant that something had gone horribly wrong. Milton was somewhere out there still and she needed to know that he was all right.

Just then, a loud clattering had both of them jumping and they looked down to see a crossbow had been placed on the barricade. Andrea knew that crossbow anywhere and a large grin spread across her face.

"Anyone goin' to help me?" A gruff voice grumbled from somewhere below the wall. "Don't think Merle can hold me up for much longer."

"Damn straight, I can't!" The unmistakable voice of Merle Dixon floated up to Andrea's ears and she had never been so happy to hear his voice.

"Okay, I'm coming!" Andrea placed her rifle down and was about to bend to grab his hand, when Big Tiny gently nudged her aside.

"I got it." His eyes went to the bump made noticeable by the tight shirt she wore. It had been the only black one she owned. Tiny reached down, grabbed Daryl's hand, which was scrabbling for something to get a hold of, and hauled the man up.

Daryl hadn't been prepared for someone to completely take his weight and was a little disoriented when his feet finally made contact with solid ground. "Damn Andrea," he muttered. "You've been liftin' weights or somethin'?" When Daryl saw that it wasn't Andrea who had lifted him, but a large black man he had never seen before, he immediately went for his bow and aimed it at the man's head.

Andrea shoved herself in front of the crossbow and Big Tiny. "He's with us, Daryl!"

Daryl didn't put his weapon done right away and looked between the two people in front of him. "Are you sure?"

"I'm sure." Andrea nodded. "He's had plenty of opportunities to kill me or rat us out to someone, but he hasn't. Trust me."

Finally, the bow was lowered and Daryl nodded. "All right, I trust you. One wrong move, though, and I won't hesitate." This was directed at the other man and Big Tiny nodded his head in agreement.

"Hey, I know it's a happy reunion and all, but we're still done here, bro!" Merle called up to them. This set the three of them in motion. Andrea found some rope and threw it down to the three men who were waiting for him. Big Tiny tied it around his waist and even though, he could have pulled up Merle on his own, Daryl and Andrea also grabbed the rope to begin pulling.

Merle scowled at them when he finally was pulled to the top of the barricade. "About fuckin' time." His eyes landed on Andrea and the scowl was replaced by a large grin. Without another word, he pulled the young woman into his arms and gave her a fierce bear hug.

"Thought I'd never see your skinny ass again," he held her at arms length and looked down. "Not so skinny anymore, huh?"

"Merle..." Daryl groaned.

Andrea shoved him away half-heartedly. "Shut up, Merle. Now, are we going to get the other two?"

"Oh, yeah. Right." Merle reached for the rope. "There's someone down there who's been dyin' to see you, again."

"Milton?" She breathed and Merle nodded. Instantly she was back at the rope with the other three and began tugging. However, the next one up was Marc, who also gave her a hug when he saw her and then,  _finally_  Milton was tugged up. Even before he could properly stand up, Andrea was there, throwing her arms around his neck and littering kisses on his face. It had been entirely too long since they had last seen one another.

"Let's give them a few minutes," Marc said and motioned for all of them to turn around. Merle had to be forced around by Daryl as he continued to watch the couple embrace with a lopsided grin.

"I thought I'd never see you, again," Andrea whispered as tears flooded her vision.

"Can't get rid of me that easily," Milton smiled his crooked grin and kissed her soundly.

* * *

On Michonne's side of Woodbury, she didn't have a big burly man to help haul up Rick and his crew, so it took them all longer to climb the high barricade and when they were done, they were all breathing heavily with the exertion.

"We should have brought a ladder," Glenn said between breaths and everyone agreed.

Once Shane recovered from the climb, he made his way to Michonne. He had been the second one to climb up after Rick and had helped his friend pull up the rest. "How are you?" He asked.

"I'm great," Michonne smiled. "Everything went fine, just like I said it would."

"Didn't doubt you," Shane muttered and pulled her close for a kiss, not caring that everyone else was probably watching him. Someone cleared their throat when the kiss got too heated and they broke apart.

"We ready to go now?" Rick asked with a smug grin and a raised eyebrow at his friend.

"Shut up," Shane grumbled and followed the rest of them as they followed Shumpert down the ladder and into the rest of Woodbury.

* * *

"Our job is to find Ed and Buck." Daryl explained to Andrea and Big Tiny.

"We should find Phillip, too." Andrea brought up. "He was the man in charge here before Buck and his men showed up. He was a good man and something's happened to him."

"Well, Ed will be at the entrance for his watch duty, right now," Big Tiny supplied. "I have no idea where they're keeping Phillip. Tomas and Andrew kept that from me and Buck is somewhere around here, but I'm not sure where."

"All right, here's the plan," Merle motioned for them to gather round. "Me and Daryl are goin' find our dear ol' daddy and you four will be in charge of takin' care of the Ed problem. Then, hopefully y'all will be able to find this Phillip fellow." Everyone agreed with the plan.

"Be careful, Daryl and Merle," Marc spoke up before they went their separate ways. He gave the brothers a knowing look. "My daughter would be devastated if you didn't come back, Daryl and the same goes for your wife, Merle."

"We'll be careful, Marc." Daryl said softly.

"You mean 'Dad'?" Marc winked. "Don't think I missed the rock on my daughter's hand, did you?" Daryl flushed and Merle chuckled. "It's about time you proposed, son."

"Told him it would take the apocalypse for him to finally man up enough to ask her and look what happened!" Merle held out his arms with a laugh.

"Can we get a move on, now?" Daryl growled, tired of being the butt of their jokes right now.

Marc and Merle shared another chuckle before they finally went their separate ways. Daryl didn't allow himself to be angry long, because he knew that he needed to be focused and he knew that his brother and future father-in-law had only been messing with him.

Daryl and Merle kept to the shadows, not knowing where to start their search first. The man could be anywhere. They made sure to stay quiet and whenever they saw another man walk by, rifle in hand and on patrol, they kept hidden.

However, their plan to stay quiet was ruined when the sound of gunfire shattered the silence.

* * *

"Shit, shit, shit!" Shane cursed loudly at the sound of gunfire. Someone had seen them and was now opening fire. No one knew who had been spotted. All they knew was that they had been sneaking around as quiet as they could and then, the next instant, bullets were whizzing at them. Luckily, no one had been hit and now, they were all behind him some barrier.

"Now, what?" Glenn hissed to his right.

"We shoot back," Shane said and stood up to begin firing into the streets. There were a few dark figures approaching them but weren't close enough to tell facial features. One went down when Shane shot at them.

"This wasn't how our plan was supposed to go." Rick muttered once he ducked behind some crates after firing a few rounds.

"Well, our job was to take out those who were with Buck and that's what we're doing, now." Shane said.

"I guess you're right."

* * *

At the first sound of gunshots, Axel and Oscar shot out of the room they were holding Buck prisoner in. Andrea was down there somewhere and they had vowed to take care of her.

* * *

The night had been peaceful and Ed was grateful when he saw that it would be an easy first watch this evening. However, that all changed when the sound of gunfire shattered the silence and it took him only a few seconds to realize that they were under attack.

Fucking great.

It also didn't help that Buck had been MIA since shacking up with the new woman and Ed had to wonder if he was still there.

Motioning to other man who was on watch with him, he ordered him to shoot the intruders and he was going to go find Buck. The man would have to be deaf to not have heard the shots but Ed knew he'd be safer with the larger man. Buck knew how to get out of tough scrapes.

Luckily, for him, Ed was able to avoid being shot at and was now running down the hallway to Michonne's room. When he reached it, he noticed that the door was ajar and without announcing himself, he burst through it.

What greeted him came as a shock. Buck Dixon was handcuffed, tied down to a chair and gagged. When he saw Ed, his eyes crinkled at the sides and Ed knew that was smiling.

"What the fuck happened to you, Buck?" He asked and began untying the roped around Buck's ankles and wrists. He saved the gag for last.

"That fuckin' bitch!" Buck roared. "She lured me in here and knocked me out!"

"I see that."

"And then, she brought that blond bitch and-"

"Andrea?" Ed interrupted, which earned him a glare.

"Like I was sayin', that blonde bitch, Andrea, and the two traitors stood in here while I was tied up and talked about their plans to take back Woodbury!"

"That's what's going on, now."

"Shit." Buck stood and noticed that his hands were still handcuffed to behind his back. "Go in that drawer over there and get the damn key for these things."

Ed didn't waste anytime grabbing the key and unlocking his boss. Buck grabbed at the gun on Ed's hip and placed it in his own belt. "Before we go out there, let's take a look to see how bad it is." The windows in the room they were in faced the back of Woodbury and not the street like the rooms across the hall did. So, they kicked open the door to the room across the way, saw that it was empty and went straight for the window.

The streets were in chaos. Men were everyone and shots were being fired. Ed watched the whole thing with a grimace and turned to say something to Buck, but saw the older man's gaze was fixated on something. "What is it, Buck?"

A smile crept on the man's face. "My boys." He pointed at two men who weren't engaged in the fighting and who were keeping to the edge of the buildings. Ed instantly recognized them and gripped the windowsill so hard the wood creaked.

"Looks like goin' off to find them was an even more waste of time," Buck sneered. "Cuz they've gone and found us, instead."


	42. Chapter Forty-Two

**Chapter 42**

Buck and Ed stood at the window and watched Daryl and Merle for a few more minutes. The brothers had no idea that they were being watched.

"So, what are we going to do about them?" Ed turned to ask Buck.

"There ain't goin' to be a 'we', boy. It's jus' goin' to be me takin' care of my sons." Buck's eyes never left the window and an evil looking grin split his face. Even Ed shuddered at the sight of it.

"But-" Ed protested. He had been the one to leave Woodbury to find Daryl. He had almost been killed along the way and had every right to deal with the youngest Dixon.

"I know you got some kind of vendetta for my youngest, Ed, but as their father I have every right to deal with them as I please." Buck looked over at the other man. "Now, get your ass out there and take down as many of them assholes as you can, but leave my boys to me."

Ed grumbled, clearly unhappy with the plan, but left to do what the boss said, anyways. Buck stayed behind for a minute longer and continued to watch his sons. He smiled again and grabbed at the gun at his belt, checked the clip and left the room to take care of business.

If everything went as planned, there would only be one Dixon left in the world and it would be him.

* * *

Andrea, Milton, Big Tiny and Marc made sure to keep to the shadows and out of the way of enemy fire. So far, they had been lucky and hadn't had to take anyone down. Neither one of them had ever taken a human life, not even Big Tiny who had witnessed Buck and his men take down countless innocents. It was the end of the world and finding other survivors was rare. They all needed to band together to survive and not kill one another.

"The other day, I saw Andrew and Tomas come out of that building and Tomas had bloody knuckles, like he had just beat someone up," Big Tiny whispered to the three people who were following him. "Maybe they're keeping Phillip in there."

The only problem was that the building that Big Tiny pointed too was across the street and they would be in the sightings of everyone in Woodbury.

"We have to take the chance," Marc said when he noticed everyone's pause. "A man could need our help right now, we have to do this."

"Everyone, except Andrea," Milton spoke up.

"What?" Andrea hissed.

"You're pregnant. You can't risk the baby by going out there." Milton explained.

"I'm not going to just stay behind. I got enough of this from Axel and Oscar, Milton; I won't take it from you, too!" Andrea's voice grew steadily louder and she had to be shushed by Marc.

"Look, I know you want to be out there," Milton gently grabbed her arm and led her away from the two other men. "But you have a baby growing in you, Andrea. You have to think about he or she, okay?"

Andrea huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. Things were too hectic now to throw a tantrum but damn it all if Milton was right. "Fine," she finally said. "I'll stay here to keep watch for you guys and take down anyone who gets near." That was all she allowed Milton to get away with. There was no way she'd go into hiding when her friends were out here fighting and risking their lives.

"Okay." Milton wasn't happy about that, either, but knew that was all he was going to get. "Keep to the shadows and out of sight. The moment you feel like you can't handle yourself, you get the hell out of there, okay?" He rarely cussed and hoped by doing so, now, would help gravitate the seriousness of his tone. He had just gotten Andrea and his baby back and there was no way he was going to lose them again.

"You better leave now before you're seen," Andrea said with a small smile. "Be careful, all right?"

Milton kissed her. "You, too." Then, he was off running across the street with Marc and Big Tiny.

* * *

"Fuck, do we have any idea where our ol' man is?" Merle asked as he crouched behind Daryl, who was cautiously peering around another corner to another building.

"Naw, but you'd think he'd show his ugly face, by now. With the whole town bein' attacked at all," Daryl muttered and motioned for his brother to follow him as they ran past another dark and empty alley. The shooting was getting a tad bit fainter.

"Probably hidin' somewhere. The coward." Merle spat.

"For all we know, his ass could already be dead."

"Ha!" Merle couldn't help but bark out a laugh. "You know the sayin' he used to always say. Only a Dixon can kill a Dixon. We'll neither one of us hasn't gotten to him and he sure as hell wouldn't have offed himself, so I say it's a safe bet he's still out there somewhere."

"So, which one of us is goin' to end him?" Daryl asked, feeling slightly queasy at the thought of killing a live human being, even if the man was a monster.

"Whoever gets the first clear shot," Merle said, simply. The older Dixon brother didn't wear his emotions on his sleeves, but Daryl could tell that he felt the same way about killing someone. It had to be done, though. If not, Buck Dixon would still be out there and they wouldn't be safe. Carol and Maggie wouldn't be completely safe from him and that was the number one reason why he needed to be put down.

* * *

Shane felt like he was just firing into the streets with reckless abandon. There weren't many Woodbury men remained and those that were left were all scattered around, hiding behind corners and lurking in the shadows.

"Almost out of ammo," Rick hissed to his left and checked his pockets for more bullets. "How about you?"

The empty click of his rifle when he went up to start shooting again was enough answer for Rick. Thankfully, Glenn, T-Dog, Shumpert and Michonne still had ammo and the answering reply of enemy fire was getting less and less.

"Do you think it's almost over?" Rick asked and loaded what few bullets he had back into his gun.

"God, I hope so," Shane answered and looked over at Michonne with a proud grin when she took out two men with just two bullets.

"Me too." Rick went up to start shooting again, but a cry of pain had him sitting back down on the concrete and clutching his arm. Blood seeped through his fingers and Shane's eyes widened in panic. "S'okay," Rick reassured his friend. "It's just a graze."

Shane took the rifle from Rick's hand and started firing. Relief had washed over him when he saw that it was just a graze. He didn't know what he would have done if Rick had been killed or what he would tell Lori when they returned without him. Before the Turn, they had both worked as police officers and had been shot at once or twice in their lifetime. Nothing as fierce as this, though. These shots grazed by their heads and they didn't have a police car door to hide behind or bulletproof vests.

* * *

"Found him!" Big Tiny cried victoriously after shoving open another door. Marc and Milton crowded behind the large man and found Phillip Blake bloody, tied to a chair and  _very_  happy to see them.

Marc and Milton immediately went to work untying the ropes on Phillip's ankles and wrists. Big Tiny unwrapped the gag from the man's mouth. "Thank God, you guys are here." Were the first words out of his mouth. "Thank God, you guys are here." Were the first words out of his mouth. Turning to Milton, he said, "And I'm glad you've finally made it back. Andrea was worried sick." He looked between the men with a frown. "Where  _is_ Andrea?"

"She's outside keeping watch for us," Milton answered. He held out a hand for the ex-captive to take hold of. When Phillip did, he was unable to take a step without his knees buckling. Looking up at them, he had a sheepish look on his face.

"Sorry, it's been awhile since I've been able to stand."

"Don't worry." Milton grabbed one of Phillip's arms and placed it over his shoulder. Marc did the same on the other side. "We'll help you get out of here. Big Tiny you'll have to lead the way since you're the only one who can shoot, right now."

"Got it." The large man saluted, took his gun in his massive hands and began to lead the way out of the building. As they walked down the hall, they noticed that the gunfire had declined majorly and hoped that it was a good sign.

When they reached the outside, the trio almost ran right into Big Tiny's back. "What's the hold up, Tiny?" Marc asked. The man didn't answer and Marc had no choice to look around him. Standing in front of them, guns trained on them and smug grins smothered on their faces, were Andrew and Tomas.

The Hispanic man asked with a sneer, "Going somewhere, boys?"

Before anyone could reply, there was two gunshots shot in rapid succession and the two men crumpled to the ground. Looking over, Milton saw Andrea smiling and waving at them.

With pride, Milton shouted over to the woman. "That's my girl!"

* * *

The gunfire had ceased.

Merle and Daryl paused in their search to look at one another. Did that mean that it was over? Was Woodbury taken back from Buck and his men or were all of their friends dead?

"We ain't got time to think about it, baby brother." Merle prodded him in the back to keep moving. "We gotta find that monster and-" Suddenly a large figure flung himself on Merle and tackled the man to the ground.

Daryl whipped around, ready to let an arrow fly into the attacker but a voice he had never wanted to hear again started to speak. "I wouldn't do that, son. I don't think your brother here would like to have his brains blown out."

"I ain't your  _son_!" Daryl spat and kept his crossbow up.

"Keep tellin' yourself that, boy." Buck just smiled and stood up, making sure to keep Merle between himself and an arrow to the head. "You got Dixon blood in your veins, jus' like me."

"Don't mean shit." Daryl wanted to keep his old man talking in hopes that his guard would go down and he'd have a clear shot. His hands shook as he continued to hold his bow. The moment he had a shot, he wouldn't hesitate Buck Dixon would be no more.

"You know somethin' that always puzzled me," Buck mused. "It always puzzled me that Merle, here, didn't turn out jus' like his dear ol' daddy. I started you out on the right track."

"I didn't want to end up like my piece of shit  _father_ ," Merle growled and barely flinched when Buck's hold on him tightened.

"You best stop talkin' like that, boy, or I'll kill you first. Was savin' that for your pansy ass brother but my mind can be swayed."

"Go ahead and kill me, then." Merle was baiting him and didn't take long for Daryl to catch on. He knew his brother was about to something, possibly something stupid and Daryl knew he'd have to watch carefully for any type of signal.

"Oh, how honorable of you," Buck scoffed. "Makes me sick."

At that moment, Merle looked Daryl right in the eye and...winked.

The next thing he knew, Merle was elbowing Buck hard in the gut and diving for the ground. "Shoot him, Daryl!" He shouted and Daryl felt like he wasn't even in his body anymore.

However, he recovered quickly and let the arrow fly. It embedded itself in between his father's eyes and Buck Dixon was no more.

* * *

It was all over.

From where Ed stood on top of the barricade in the front of Woodbury, he saw all of his and Buck's men's bodies lining the street. They had killed every single one of them, but there was no way in hell he was going to let them get to him. So, with another look, he hoped off the wall and started running into the night.

Laughing, he thought himself free...until the first walker grabbed a hold of him and took a chunk out of his neck. By the time the third walker had come to join the feast, Ed Peletier was dead.


	43. Chapter Forty-Three

**Chapter 43**

It was another sleepless night for Maggie and Carol. Together they laid awake in Carol's bed and clutched hands. Tonight was the night they had planned on invading Woodbury and at that moment, Daryl, Merle or anyone else from their group could have been killed. Not for the first time, the two women wished they had tried harder to convince the Dixons to let them come with.

"God, the wait is going to kill me before anything else can," Maggie whispered into the darkness and moved closer to her friend.

"I know," Carol sighed and turned her head to look at Maggie. "Do you think they'll be back, tonight or will they wait until morning?"

Maggie smiled. "If Merle and Daryl are smart, they'll know to get back to us as soon as possible...or we'll go and get their asses." Carol laughed softly and agreed.

"Want to relieve Hershel and Sharon from watch so we can be the first to spot them?" Carol suggested and sat up. Maggie responded by throwing the covers off them and hopping out of bed.

"Hell yeah."

* * *

Daryl stared down at the lifeless body of his pa, feeling numb. He had just killed a living human being and not just any human being, but his own father. Buck had needed to be put down, he knew, but he didn't think he'd be the one to do it. Merle could have and would have done it easily and Daryl had planned on his older brother to do the dirty work. Yet, when the time came, it had been him and he hadn't hesitated to let a bolt fly the moment there was a clear shot.

A hand clapped down on his shoulder and the familiar raspy voice of his brother spoke softly, "Come on, Daryl. Let's get out of here."

Daryl kicked at Buck's boot. "What do we do about him?"

"Figure we'll have a shit ton of clean up to do later, but now, we gotta see if everyone made it." Daryl swallowed and with one last look at his dead father, he turned and followed Merle down the streets of Woodbury.

They were walking side-by-side when Merle looked over at him. "You know you did a good thing back there, right? The bastard would have killed us both."

"I know it was a good thing!" Daryl growled, not really wanting to talk about it now. All he wanted to do was gather with everyone, clean up the shit they needed too and get the hell back to the farmhouse and Carol to bury himself in her softness. He craved her presence and knew that he needed her soothing voice and gentle touch to calm him down.

"Look, you can act like you're fuckin' fine with it, but I know you ain't." Merle stopped and stood in front of him. "Jus' wanted to reassure you that you had to do what you did and no one is goin' to fault you for it. 'Specially that woman of yours." He smirked. "Last I checked, I'm pretty sure she would like her groom-to-be  _alive._ "

Daryl couldn't help but smile at that. Carol would  _not_  have been happy with him if he had gotten his ass killed, especially since they were supposed to be getting married, soon. "You're right," he finally said and his spirits started to lift. Thoughts of killing his pa went to the back of his mind and with a light step; he continued to follow his brother.

* * *

Still supporting Phillip on their shoulders, Marc and Milton made it to the center of Woodbury, along with Big Tiny and Andrea. Axel and Oscar were already there and when they saw Andrea alive and well, they rushed to gather the woman in their arms.

"Thank God you're okay, girl." Oscar grinned and settled the blonde woman on her feet. At the first sound of gunfire, Axel and me grabbed our weapons and went to the streets to start fighting. Buck wasn't going anywhere anytime soon."

"And we were worried about you," Axel piped up.

"I was fine, guys." Andrea smiled. "I had Milton and everyone else there to protect me." The two men looked around at the mention of Milton and smiled when they finally set their eyes on him.

"Glad you're back!" Oscar nodded at him.

Milton handed off Phillip to Big Tiny and walked up to both men to shake their hands. "I just want to thank you for taking such good care of Andrea for me."

"Hey!" Andrea protested with a smile. "I was pretty capable of taking care of myself!"

"Well, I can hear Blondie, so I think we're going in the right direction, little brother." The older Dixon showed up with a smirk and with Daryl just behind him.

"Shut up, Merle!" Andrea called after him.

"Where's everyone else?" Daryl asked when he joined the group. He looked relieved to see them everyone, but there was still some people from the group missing.

"Right here." Just then, Rick and the rest of his group showed up. On the former sheriff's arm, there was a piece of cloth and looked like there was blood seeping through it.

"What happened to you, Officer Friendly?" Merle pointed to the bloodstained cloth.

Rick looked at it and shrugged. "A bullet grazed me. I'll live."

"So, what now?" Shane asked and looked over at the Dixon brothers. "Did you take care of Buck?"

"He's probably still locked up in his room," Axel cut in.

"Well, somehow he escaped," Merle spoke. "Was able to get me in a headlock before I knew what the hell was happening. Daryl took care of him, though."

"And Ed?" Milton asked. Everyone looked at one another and shrugged.

"Didn't see him," Daryl said. "How about you all?"

"No, I don't think anyone of us did." Rick answered for everyone. "He's probably hiding somewhere and will show up eventually. Not much one man can do, though, so we'll get him." The whole group fell into a silence, then.

"Well, I don't know about you all," Merle spoke up. "But I'd like to get my ass back to my wife." A murmur went through the group as they all agreed about going back to the farmhouse.

"Okay, here's what we'll do," Rick took control. "We'll gather up the dead and burn them. When that's finished, then we can leave. Phillip," he looked at the man who was now standing on his own. "Can you handle it from there?"

"Yeah, as long as I have some help." Phillip nodded.

"Me and Andrea will stay behind to help," Milton said.

"So will me and Axel." Oscar stepped forward.

"And me, too." Big Tiny joined Phillip and the others.

"Okay," Rick nodded. "We would like to come back, though." He focused his attention back to Phillip. "If you have room for us, though."

"I'm pretty sure we'll have room for you all and it's the least I can do for helping us get Woodbury back."

After cleaning up the dead, Rick and the rest of the group started making their way back to the farmhouse. On the way, they found the remains of Ed still getting chewed on my walkers. Merle looked over at Daryl with a smirk, "Well, I guess that's what happened to ol' Ed."

Daryl snorted. "Good riddance."

* * *

The sun was just peeking over the horizon when Carol and Maggie heard the sound of approaching vehicles coming from the road. Maggie looked over at Carol. "Do you think...?"

"It has to be. Right?"

The two women waited patiently for the vehicles to approach and when they recognized them, they could barely contain their excitement. The moment Daryl set foot on solid ground; Carol was flying into his arms.

"Thank God, you're finally home." She looked up at him and brought his head down for a long, passionate kiss. They had only been separated for a day, but it had felt like forever.

"I'm glad I'm home, too." He smiled.

"How's Woodbury?" She took a step back from him, but still kept her arms wrapped around his waist. She wasn't ready to disconnect from him, yet.

"Back to normal," he answered.

"And Buck?" Something flickered in his eyes and she grew sad for him.

"Dead."

Carol pulled him closer, again. "I'm so sorry." Buck hadn't been anywhere near a father to his youngest, but he was still blood. Still family.

"S'okay. He needed to be put down and I didn't hesitate to do it." Carol cupped his cheek and he pressed his face into it, welcoming her touch.

"I know it was hard, Daryl, and I'm sorry that your father was so bad he had to be put down, but that is no way your fault. Despite growing up with him, you've become the man you are today. A good man and I love you."

He smiled and all the sadness left his eyes. "I love you, too."

**A Month Later**

Daryl and Carol lay on the bed in their room at the farmhouse. Daryl was lightly dozing, while Carol couldn't close her eyes for anything. There was something she needed to tell him, but didn't know how to bring it up.

She wished she could have talked with Maggie before she dropped this on him. She knew she'd need the reassure, but she was probably asleep in the room she shared with Merle. In the month since they'd taken back Woodbury, everyone except the Dixons and Carol decided to stay back at the house. Merle and Daryl didn't like the idea of being holed up with a bunch of other people and Maggie and Carol were glad to stay with them.

They'd made a home for themselves here. Merle and Daryl even asked some of the other men from Woodbury to set up a fence around the property so no walkers could get in. They were safe and happy here.

"Whatcha thinkin' about?" Daryl's voice startled her, she hadn't known he was awake.

"Uh, nothing."

"Yeah, right. You been tossin' and turnin' for almost an hour, now." He shifted to his side and looked down on her. "Somethin' wrong?"

"No," she shook her head. "Was just thinking about the name Sophia. Isn't it a pretty name for a girl?"

"Uh, yeah, I guess." In the slight light, she could see that Daryl was confused. "Why?"

"Remember the night before you left before Woodbury? Well, uh, we didn't use...anything." She grabbed his hand and placed it on her stomach, which was still flat. "I'm pregnant."

 


	44. Chapter Forty-Four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the end! There still be an epilogue but it won't be it won't be posted for awhile!

**Chapter 44**

_**Two Months Later** _

Finally.

Daryl shifted in the slightly too small suit Merle and Marc had found for him on a run. Sweat was collecting on his forehead and not just because of the Georgian heat. He was getting  _married._  If he hadn't been such a pussy, he and Carol would have been married before the Turn, but there wasn't much they could do about that, now.

Merle shifted in his spot next to Daryl, clearly as uncomfortable as his brother in his suit. On the other side of Merle stood Milton. They were Daryl's two groomsmen. Hershel was to officiate the ceremony.

"What the fuck is takin' them so long?" Merle hissed right into Daryl's ear. If there hadn't been an audience, he would have elbowed his brother hard in the stomach.

"It's probably  _your_  wife causin' the delay. She's been runnin' around like a crazy woman all day wantin' everything to be perfect." Merle didn't say anything, knowing that it probably  _was_  Maggie who was holding Carol back from walking down the aisle on time.

Milton peered around the oldest Dixon and looked between the two, brow furrowed. "Is everything okay? You aren't getting cold feet, are you, Daryl?" The corners of his mouth tilted up in a teasing grin.

"Shut up," Daryl growled and didn't care if the people in the front row could hear him. It was only Rick and his very pregnant wife, anyways. They should be use to the three of them ribbing each other good-naturally.

"When I was at Merle's wedding, I thought for sure he was going to run out the church's doors," Milton continued. This time, Merle was the one to glare at his friend while Daryl bit down a laugh. It had been true. Daryl almost thought that Merle was going to sweat off his tux during his wedding.

If it was Milton's intent to ease his nerves, he had succeeded. Daryl stopped twitching in place and took a long, calming breath. Carol would be out in only a few minutes and soon after that, they would  _finally_  be married. They were going to do right by that baby growing in her stomach.

Daryl still couldn't believe that he was going to be a daddy. Of course, before the world had ended he knew that one day he would have a family with Carol, but the dead started walking and those thoughts took a back seat. They had to struggle to survive, now, and couldn't take the time to think about luxuries like having a family and a home to raise them in.

He was terrified.

Carol didn't know this and he didn't want her to know it. But this baby terrified him. He had nearly lost Carol  _twice_  because he hadn't been there to protect her, how was he going to protect this baby? Sure, they had the fence around their house and enough weapons to keep them for a while, but the world was known to throw unexpected things their way and sometimes they wouldn't be prepared for it.

"Lighten up." Merle nudged him in the side. "Your woman is comin'."

Daryl looked up and instantly, thoughts of the baby went to the back of his mind. At that moment, Carol's two bridesmaids, Andrea and Maggie, walked arm and arm down the aisle. Normally, they would have walked down with the groomsmen, but this was wedding wasn't going to be completely traditional.

Beyond their heads, Daryl spotted Carol dressed in a simple, white sleeveless gown that reached the floor. On top of her auburn hair sat a veil that flowed down past her face and brushed along her shoulders. Her smile was wide behind it. Around her neck lay a delicate cross necklace that inlaid with small sapphires. Something blue. On her wrist was a gold bracelet, the only piece of jewelry Sharon had. Something borrowed. The dress was new and the veil had been found on a run in someone's attic. They all decided that it could be something old.

Walking her down the aisle was her father, who looked just as happy as Carol.

At first, Daryl had thought Marc would want to kill him once he found out that Carol was pregnant, but instead, had gathered the couple in his arms and told them how excited he was to be getting a grandchild. Sharon had burst into happy tears at the news.

Once they reached the altar, Marc kissed Carol's cheek and handed her off to Daryl. All eyes focused on the couple, but Daryl's eyes were completely on Carol.

Gently, he lifted the veil from her face. "You're so beautiful," he whispered.

Carol's cheeks flushed and she quickly blinked her watery eyes. "You aren't so bad, yourself, Daryl," she teased with affection.

Daryl wanted to kiss her, right then, but knew that he would have to wait until after their vows were spoken and Hershel instructed them, too. He hoped the ceremony would go by quickly. He just wanted to take this woman into his arms.

Fortunately, Hershel wasn't as longwinded as he usually was as he spoke over the couple. It was like he could tell how impatient the groom was to get to the 'I dos' and for that, Daryl decided, he would thank him later.

Shutting his bible, Hershel grinned at them. "You may now, kiss the bride."

Daryl seized Carol around the waist and kissed her soundly on the mouth, while all of their friends and family cheered.

* * *

It wasn't much of a reception. No fancy cake to stuff in one another's faces and no elaborate meal to be served, but no one minded. Someone had found several bottles of champagne on the run and everyone eagerly drank it. Toasts were made. Eyes were rolled at Merle's toast, but towards the end, the oldest Dixon got serious and it nearly brought tears to his eyes when Merle told him how proud he was of little brother and how much he loved him.

Someone brought out a CD player that ran on batteries and the pair was allowed to dance their first dance as a married couple. Daryl was proud that he didn't stumble over his own feet and embarrass himself. However, he kept his face looking down at his shoes.

"Daryl," Carol giggled and tilted his head up so he could look at her. "You're doing perfect. Just look at me and everything will be fine."

Daryl believed her.

When the sun set, the reception came to an end. Carol and Daryl would be driving back to the house that night and they would have it to themselves for a few days. Thanks to Maggie, who had convinced her husband to allow the newlyweds a place of their own for a while.

Once they reached the house, made sure everything was secure, Daryl carried Carol over the threshold and up to their room, where they spent their first night as husband and wife.

**Six Months Later**

Sophia Rose Dixon came screaming into the world on an early morning sometime in February. The labor had lasted for several hours and Daryl made sure he was by Carol's side every second of it. Carol had woken up in the middle of the night when her water broke and Daryl sent Merle off to get Hershel, the only doctor they had.

It had been a perfect birth. No complications and Sophia was deemed a very healthy child, with a very healthy pair of lungs. Merle had nudged his brother with a grin and said that was the Dixon part of the girl.

Sophia had her mother's eyes, a pale beautiful blue.

"Hm, makes me want to have a kid of my own," Merle commented as he looked down at his niece.

All eyes were on the newborn baby, but Carol heard the quiet sigh of relief from Maggie, who sat by her on the bed.

A few days later, Merle was pounding on their bedroom door, a giant grin on his face and announcing that Maggie was pregnant.

* * *

When Sophia was only two weeks old, Daryl and Carol's friends from Woodbury came and visited them at the farmhouse. Among those that visited, were Milton, Andrea and their son, Samuel(Sam, for short) who had been born a month and a half before, and Rick, Lori and their son, Carl, who was a month old.

"Looks like we're goin' to be surrounded by babies!" Merle announced and wrapped an arm around his wife. Everyone got the message. Beth rushed her sister and gathered her in a big hug, gushing that she would be an aunt soon. Hershel clapped his son-in-law on the arm before moving on to hug his daughter.

Merle saddled up to Daryl, who was standing next to Carol. "You better hope that our bun in the oven isn't a boy cuz that'll mean your little girl is goin' to be surrounded by boys."

Daryl's eyes grew wide.

* * *

There were so many sleeping bodies packed into the house and it reminded Carol about their time on the road. Everyone had decided they would stay the night. Each couple with a baby, took one of the empty rooms and those that were left found places throughout the house where they could sleep comfortably.

She looked down one last time at her sleeping daughter before walking over to the bed where Daryl was already lying. The past few weeks had been exhausting and they both knew that they would be awakened in a few hours by Sophia's hungry cries.

Carol slid into the bed and kissed Daryl on the cheek. "I love you," she said and snuggled into his side. Five years they had been together, ten including their entire friendship, and the love had never wavered. Carol knew she had couldn't have married a better man.

"Love you, too, sweetheart," Daryl mumbled. Sleep was quickly taking over. Carol threw an arm around his waist and intertwined her legs with his. It was her favorite sleeping position, being wrapped around Daryl.

Sighing with content, she closed her eyes. The world had ended but she had everything she could ever want in that room with her and she couldn't be happier.

**The End**

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone who has read this!! :D


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